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I have some thoughts regarding the remarks made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, improbable improvements 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 sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {