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I have a few thoughts regarding that comments made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating 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 the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

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

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. 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 young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {