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I possess some thoughts regarding that comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {