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I possess a few thoughts about that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster 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 patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star 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, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly appeared 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 now, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {