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I have a few opinions regarding that remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely 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: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of US male players lifting major titles when he 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 insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced 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 use excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

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

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {