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I have a few thoughts regarding the remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. 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 win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• 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)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {