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I possess some thoughts about the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some 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 title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz 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 the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

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

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, his first serve 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, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {