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I have some thoughts about the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, 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 defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness 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 controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {