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I have a few opinions regarding that remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive strength on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, 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 regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {