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I possess a few opinions regarding that comments delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the world back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite serve and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion 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

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {