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I have a few opinions regarding the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Rather, he brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous 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 is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was 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 continuing drought of American men lifting major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments 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 evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {