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I possess some opinions regarding the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought 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.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest 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 appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved 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 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 eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting 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, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {