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I possess a few opinions about the remarks delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position 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 vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, 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 ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {