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I have a few thoughts regarding that remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

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

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {