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I possess a few opinions regarding the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

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

The American's performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible 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 match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {