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I have some opinions regarding that remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {