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I have a few thoughts regarding the comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive power on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {