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I possess a few opinions about the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

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

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, 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 expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {