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I possess some thoughts about that comments made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {