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I possess some thoughts about that comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships 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’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on each front side and backhand are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {