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I have a few thoughts regarding that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, he brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged 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 declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler 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 slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {