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I have some thoughts about that comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably 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: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions 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 produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {