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I have some thoughts regarding that comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived 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 the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; 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 sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on each front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {