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I possess a few thoughts about the remarks made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The last several years has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork 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 soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem 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 physical powers now, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• 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 June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {