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I possess some thoughts about the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and powerful power on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {