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I possess a few opinions regarding the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive power on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {