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I have a few thoughts regarding that remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {