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I have a few thoughts regarding that comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided 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 unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {