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I have some thoughts about the remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {