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I possess some thoughts about the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. 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 typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {