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I possess a few opinions regarding the comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past 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 (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class serve and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, 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 commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {