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I have a few opinions about the comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

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

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. 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 the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator 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 US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {