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I have some thoughts about that remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of American men lifting grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {