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I possess a few thoughts about the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on each front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five 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 opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of American men lifting major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {