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I possess a few opinions about that remarks made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in press after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

The American has made a number of significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer 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 dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {