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I possess some opinions about that remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {