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I possess a few opinions regarding that 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. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, 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 next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting this week’s 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 it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive power on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service 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 win it. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {