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I possess some opinions about the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements 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 surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion 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 second set, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor 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 the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {