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I have a few thoughts about the comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown 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 Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

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

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position 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 chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of US male players lifting grand slams 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 task too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {