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I possess a few thoughts about the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete 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?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of 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 he eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {