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I possess some opinions about that comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 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 next round). He said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and concussive power on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams 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 challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {