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I possess a few thoughts about the comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world in succession. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the chances 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 battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive effort to win it. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion 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 accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {