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I possess some opinions regarding that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

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

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler 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 US male players winning grand slams when he had exited 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 run to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend 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 would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {