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I possess a few thoughts about the remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {