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I have some thoughts about the comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; 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 lack of US winners in mind?

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

The American, 28, is placed number four in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class serve and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American 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 later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men lifting major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {