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I possess some opinions about the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's play in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• 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 told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {