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I have a few opinions about that remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, 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 elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest 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 American men winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge 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 putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {