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I have a few opinions about the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players 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 storyline, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest 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 mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {