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I possess some opinions regarding that remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German 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 climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

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

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {