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I have some opinions regarding that comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on each front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to prevail. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {