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I have a few opinions about that remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting 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 defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

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

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg 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,” the American told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {