🔗 Share this article

I have a few opinions regarding the comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the world back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {