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I possess some opinions regarding the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: 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.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, 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 the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, 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 sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

The American's play in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {