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I possess a few thoughts about that comments delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, he 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 Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 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 growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork 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 playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, 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 winning major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star made a personal best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {