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I have a few opinions about that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star made a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed 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 duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {