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I possess some thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {