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I have a few opinions about that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {