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I possess a few opinions about the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. 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. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

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

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, 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 mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may 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 drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared 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 failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps 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)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {