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I possess a few opinions about the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players 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 competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful power on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {