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I possess a few opinions about the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe 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?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump 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 respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {