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I possess a few thoughts about that remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler 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 lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four 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 tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {