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I possess a few opinions about the remarks made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, he brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; 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 American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. 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: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers 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 anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {