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I have some opinions regarding that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else 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 fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {