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I have some thoughts regarding that remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {