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I have some thoughts regarding the remarks made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; 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?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained 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 toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of American men lifting major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {