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I possess some opinions about the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it presented the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz 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 sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on both forehand and backhand are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {