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I possess a few opinions about the remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of US male players lifting grand slams 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 too little.

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

The American's play in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {