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I possess a few thoughts regarding that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, he invoked the continued absence of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {