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I possess some thoughts about that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {