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I possess a few thoughts about that remarks made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {