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I possess a few opinions regarding that remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he brought up the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful power on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

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

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should 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 competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {