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I possess some thoughts regarding the comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often 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 grace of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, 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 mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {