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I have a few opinions about that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. 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 Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {