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I have some thoughts about that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

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

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {