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I have some opinions about that remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive power on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, 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 contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {