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I have some opinions about the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive power on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {