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I have some opinions about the comments delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed number four in the world starting the upcoming 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 is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, 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 Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {