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I have some thoughts about the comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he 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 lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {