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I possess some opinions about that comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could 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 US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much energy to win it. Down match points in the last game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly 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 acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {