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I possess a few opinions about the comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning 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 one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not only say his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {