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I possess a few thoughts about that remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting 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, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {