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I have some thoughts about the comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, 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 winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {