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I possess a few opinions regarding that comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• 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 the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {