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I have a few opinions regarding that comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: 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 storyline, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on both front side and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, 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 made a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {