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I have a few opinions about the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

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

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {