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I have a few thoughts regarding that comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

The American has made a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {