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I have some opinions about that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {