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I have some opinions about the comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships 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 right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain 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 appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {