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I have a few opinions regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class serve and concussive power on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler 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 continuing drought of American men winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {