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I possess some opinions about that comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the continued absence of American men at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. 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 only say how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {