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I have a few opinions regarding the comments made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. 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 he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender 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 exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {