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I have some opinions about that comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was understandable. Rather, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world in succession. He is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly 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, 28, is placed number four in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {