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I have a few thoughts about the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought 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 last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest 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 grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer 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 empire is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {