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I have some thoughts about the comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued absence of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in press after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {