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I have some thoughts about that comments made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy 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, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive power on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of American men lifting grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {