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I possess a few thoughts regarding that comments made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on both front side and backhand are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points 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 win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {