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I have some thoughts regarding that comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the continued absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway 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 split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well 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 what other person in their right mind 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 global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match 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 particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {