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I have a few opinions regarding that comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz 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 draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners 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 fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, 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 typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

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

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

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

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {