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I possess a few opinions regarding that comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, 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 someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings starting 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 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 top-class delivery and powerful power on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {