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I possess a few thoughts regarding that comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five 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 other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been 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 exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {