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I possess a few thoughts regarding that comments made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; 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 American champions in mind?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 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 sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful power on each forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {