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I have a few thoughts about the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway 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 divided 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 following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive power on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {