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I possess some opinions about the comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on both front side 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, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz 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 Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• 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 indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {