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I have a few opinions about that comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

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

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite serve and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest 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 slump of American men lifting grand slams 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 achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak 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 the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {