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I have a few opinions regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and powerful power on both front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately 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 quite compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {