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I possess a few thoughts about that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He stated in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When he finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he believed 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 anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {