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I have some opinions regarding the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating 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 slump of American men winning grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to win it. Down match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {