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I possess a few thoughts regarding the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

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

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of US male players winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed 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 dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {