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I have a few thoughts regarding that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {