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I have a few thoughts regarding the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one 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 enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men lifting major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {