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I possess a few opinions regarding the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he brought up the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else 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, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve 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, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {