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I have a few thoughts regarding the remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The past few years has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American 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 valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {