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I possess a few opinions about the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” the American told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {