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I have a few opinions regarding the comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

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

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities 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 win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {