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I possess some thoughts regarding the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 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 far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on both forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {