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I have some thoughts about the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued 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 final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. 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. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton 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 Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {