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I possess some opinions regarding the remarks delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

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

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved 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 plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {