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I possess a few thoughts about that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {