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I possess some thoughts regarding the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising 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 limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players winning grand slams when he 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 achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• 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 think about it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told an interviewer in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {