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I possess some opinions about the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {