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I possess a few opinions regarding the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

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

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed 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 seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {