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I have some thoughts about the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest 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 American men winning major titles when he had exited 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.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to win it. Down match points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {