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I have some opinions about the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

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

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might 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 vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside 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)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• 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. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {