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I possess a few thoughts regarding that comments made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem 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 now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps 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

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely 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 a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {