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I possess some thoughts about the comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy 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 the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class serve and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used 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 harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {