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I have a few opinions regarding that comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 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: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on each front side and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {