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I possess some thoughts about that comments made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d 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 divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on both front side and backhand are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked 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 service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {