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I possess a few opinions regarding that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, 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 appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility 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, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {