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I possess some thoughts about that comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. 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 dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {