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I possess some opinions about the comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, 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 commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• 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 forever if I fail to do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {