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I have a few opinions about the remarks made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {