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I possess a few opinions about the remarks made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {