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I have a few opinions regarding the remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Group

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {