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I have a few opinions regarding the comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {