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I have a few thoughts about the remarks made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared 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 acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those 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 would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {