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I have some thoughts regarding that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite serve and concussive power on each front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only say his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {