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I possess a few opinions regarding that comments delivered 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 American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not only say his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to 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 share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {