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I possess some opinions regarding that remarks delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him 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 fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive energy to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {