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I have a few opinions about that comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could 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 sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {