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I have a few thoughts about the comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest 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 continuing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {