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I have a few opinions regarding the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. 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 steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest 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 American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {