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I have a few opinions regarding that comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz 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 thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest 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 commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

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

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances 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 opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to win it. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {