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I have a few opinions about that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on both front side and backhand are more than enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the contest 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 second serves.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {