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I have some opinions about that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of US male players lifting major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {