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I have a few thoughts regarding the comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

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

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak 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 terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz 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 nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {