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I possess some thoughts about that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion 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 (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz 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 Fritz earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

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

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {