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I have some opinions regarding that comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest 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 worth commenting on the continuing slump of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

The American's play 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 uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use far too much effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {