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I have a few thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when he had exited the New York major 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 run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {