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I have some thoughts about the comments made by ESPN 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, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on both forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {