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I have some opinions about the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in press after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on both front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {