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I have a few thoughts regarding that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on each front side and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {