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I have a few opinions regarding the remarks made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Group

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

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {