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I have a few thoughts regarding that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite serve and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, 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 drought of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only say his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {