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I have some opinions regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought 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. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite serve and powerful power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a career-best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did convert 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 peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to win it. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {