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I possess a few thoughts about that remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it presented the chance to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable 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 top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels 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 men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {