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I possess a few opinions regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. 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 done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz 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 fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {