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I possess a few opinions about that comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

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

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class serve and concussive power on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {