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I possess a few opinions about the comments delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz 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 the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

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

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {