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I have a few opinions regarding that remarks made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded 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 including a aging Djokovic, 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 appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {