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I possess some thoughts about that comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite serve and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {