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I have a few thoughts regarding the comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the world back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork 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 drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest 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 appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {