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I have a few thoughts about that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive power on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much energy to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {