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I possess a few thoughts about the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, he brought up the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {