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I have a few thoughts regarding the comments made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought 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 won his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. 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’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {