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I possess a few opinions about that comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {