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I possess a few thoughts about that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players 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 competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five 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 hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say 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 spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {