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I possess a few opinions regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded 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 including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator 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 winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely 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 doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {