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I possess some thoughts regarding that remarks made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; 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 American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {