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I have some opinions regarding the comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams 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 insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just express how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

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

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {