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I possess some thoughts regarding the comments made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the world in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter men. 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 controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

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

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of claiming 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 dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {