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I have a few thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {