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I possess some thoughts about that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. 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 accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {