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I have some opinions regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just 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 produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• 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 the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {