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I possess some thoughts regarding the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {