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I possess a few thoughts about that remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, 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 typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even 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 commenting on the continuing drought of US male players 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 task too little.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {