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I have some opinions about the remarks made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. He 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 opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {