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I possess a few opinions regarding that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star made a career-best run to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {