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I possess some thoughts regarding that comments made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. 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 controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. 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 suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {