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I possess some opinions about the comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge 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 achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {