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I have some opinions about the comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued 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 competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, 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 drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {