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I possess a few opinions about the remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite serve and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {