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I have a few thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American 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 calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

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

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning 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 dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {