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I possess some thoughts about the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world in succession. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive power on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {