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I have some thoughts about that remarks delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might 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 ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz 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 goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {