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I have a few opinions regarding the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an official match. 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 thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on both front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {