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I have a few opinions about the comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been 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 American men lifting major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {