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I possess a few opinions regarding that remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players 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.

We all love a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class serve and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, 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 lifting major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star made a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced 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 expend excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

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

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {