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I possess some thoughts about the remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men 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 competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame 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 rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {