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I possess some thoughts regarding that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {