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I possess a few thoughts regarding the comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of US male players lifting major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not only say his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {