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I possess some thoughts about that comments delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. 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, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {