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I have some opinions about that remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings entering 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 evidently that at present, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could 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 continuing slump of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times 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 second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring 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 patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {