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I have a few opinions regarding the comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing 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 respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

The American's performance in that very 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 the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {