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I have some opinions regarding that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence 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 enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork 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 hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {