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I have a few opinions about the comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When he finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {