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I have a few thoughts about the remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

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 do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {