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I have a few opinions about the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought 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 placed number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just express 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 the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {