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I possess some thoughts about that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the continued 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 competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {