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I possess some opinions regarding that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked the German 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 far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {