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I possess some opinions about that comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite serve and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence 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 do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner 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: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {