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I have some opinions regarding the comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain 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 pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {