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I possess a few opinions about that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown 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 Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past 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 last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity 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 win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz 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 once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {