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I possess some opinions about that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork 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 hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

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

Swedish icon Group

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

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {