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I have a few thoughts regarding that comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, 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 powerful power on each front side and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has made a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of US male players winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert one 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 real battle and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {