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I possess a few thoughts about that comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

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

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {