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I possess a few opinions regarding that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite serve and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. 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 could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {