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I have a few thoughts regarding the remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals 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 coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed 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.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {