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I possess a few thoughts about the comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none 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 love a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's play in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Facing set points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, 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, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just say his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {