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I possess a few thoughts about the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class serve and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court 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 legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {