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I have a few thoughts regarding the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited 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 achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {