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I have a few opinions regarding that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently 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 delivery and concussive power on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American told an interviewer in June of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {