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I possess a few thoughts regarding that comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion'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 nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the world in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of 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 next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {