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I possess some opinions regarding that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

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

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely 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 rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, 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 appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {