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I have a few thoughts regarding the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class serve and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {