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I have some thoughts regarding the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins 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 opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {