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I have some thoughts about the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter players. 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 soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of US male players winning 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 difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP 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 should shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {