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I have a few opinions about the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

The American's performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {