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I have some thoughts about that comments delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, 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 promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish 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 achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {