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I possess some opinions about that remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men lifting 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 challenge too little.

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

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient 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 win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {