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I possess some thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. 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 hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

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

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {