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I have a few opinions about the comments delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and powerful power on each forehand and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement 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 drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished 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 aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say his emotions or the tactic he believed decided 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 feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

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

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {