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I possess some thoughts about the comments made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). 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 competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on both front side and backhand are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. 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 elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including 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 commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {