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I possess a few thoughts regarding the remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, 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 exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Swedish icon 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 do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {