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I possess a few opinions regarding that remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian 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 three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only say his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {