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I have some opinions about the remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

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

The American's play in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed 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 the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {