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I possess some opinions about that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. 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 previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, 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 drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest 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 continuing slump of American men winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {