"Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he'd somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner in the final, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round)."
"Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?"
The drought of American men winning major titles continues, with no American lifting a Grand Slam trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003. Taylor Fritz was the last American remaining in the tournament. Even if Fritz had beaten Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz awaited and Fritz has never beaten him in an official match. A potential final against defending champion Jannik Sinner posed a steep challenge, given Fritz's 10 losses in 11 recent sets to Sinner. Fritz is ranked fourth, has beaten Alexander Zverev recently, and possesses an elite serve and powerful groundstrokes, but he struggles to overcome the handful of generational talents above him.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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