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I have some thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American had beaten the legend 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 someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could 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 American men lifting major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn 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: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {