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I possess a few opinions about the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {