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I possess some opinions about the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none 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, myself included. But really. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {