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I have some opinions about the comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on each front side and backhand are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {