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I possess some thoughts regarding that comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest 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 drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {