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I have a few thoughts regarding that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. 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’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

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

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {