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I possess some thoughts regarding the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic'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. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated 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 official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. 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 rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {