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I possess a few opinions regarding that comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, 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 ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

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

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {