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I possess a few opinions about the comments made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just express his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {