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I possess some opinions regarding the comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a personal best run to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {