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I possess a few opinions about that comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the world in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick 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 Group

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

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {