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I possess a few thoughts regarding the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was 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 commenting on 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 just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory 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 pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When he finally did convert 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 lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – 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 a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {