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I have some thoughts about that comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Rather, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

The American's performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending 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 promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {