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I have a few thoughts regarding the comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins 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 controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of US male players winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {