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I have a few opinions about that comments made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he 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 previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

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The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler 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 US male players lifting grand slams when he 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 career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, 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 forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

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

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {