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I possess a few thoughts about the comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best 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 entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

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

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {