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I possess a few thoughts about the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {