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I have some opinions about that remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth 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 could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, 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 soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams 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 too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {