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I possess some thoughts regarding the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe 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 between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he 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; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {