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I possess a few thoughts regarding that remarks made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {