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I possess a few opinions regarding the comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend 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 had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

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

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has made a several dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

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

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {