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I have some opinions about that comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

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

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

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

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

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

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {