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I possess a few opinions about that comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on each front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle 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 extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

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 would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {