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I have some thoughts about the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

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

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably 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 vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {