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I possess some thoughts about the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

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

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful power on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, 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 Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {