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I have a few opinions regarding the remarks delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {