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I have some thoughts about the comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. He is six-foot-five 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 drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating 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 legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz 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 might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {