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I possess some thoughts about that remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, 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 responsibility for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {