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I possess some thoughts regarding that comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {