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I possess some thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest 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 appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {