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I possess a few opinions regarding the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected 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 approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous 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 duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {