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I possess some thoughts about that remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian 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 pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {