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I possess a few opinions regarding the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful power on each forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {