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I have a few thoughts about the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players lifting 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 achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to 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 share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {