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I have some thoughts about that comments made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. Some disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's play in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous 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 creating numerous chances to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion 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 accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just say his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {