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I possess some opinions about the comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

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

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, 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 reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

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

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {