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I have some thoughts regarding that comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class serve and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When he finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, 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 expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {