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I have some opinions regarding the comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the ongoing 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 last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past 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 grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right 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 US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

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 take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough 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 overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club 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 felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {