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I have some opinions about that comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the world in succession. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

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

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Group

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {