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I possess a few opinions regarding that remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, 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 Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {