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I possess a few thoughts regarding that comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {