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I possess some opinions about the comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but clarify 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 unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {