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I have a few thoughts about the comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. 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 sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

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

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {