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I have some opinions about the remarks made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, he brought up the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest 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 appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {