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I have a few opinions regarding that comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {