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I possess a few opinions regarding that comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four 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. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler 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 slump of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest 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 an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly seem like he believed 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 sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {