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I possess a few thoughts regarding that comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {