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I have a few thoughts regarding that comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

The American has made a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler 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 US male players winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very 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 Fritz had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive effort to win it. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {