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I possess a few thoughts about the remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear 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 both front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since the fellow American 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)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {