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I have a few thoughts about that remarks delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, 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 beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared 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 physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit 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 accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {