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I have some opinions about that comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

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

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting 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 might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity 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 limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, 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 commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {