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I have a few thoughts regarding the comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (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 draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest 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 worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form 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 perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {