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I possess a few thoughts regarding that comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may 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 issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {