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I possess a few opinions about that remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {