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I have a few opinions about that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {