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I possess a few thoughts regarding the comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up 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 Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {