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I have some opinions about the comments delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest 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 continuing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

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

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told a journalist 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 the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {