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I possess some thoughts about the comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the world in succession. 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 Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited 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 made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Swedish icon Division

• 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,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {