American Men's Major Title Dry Spell Is Not Fritz's Responsibility to Bear

I have a few opinions regarding the comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend 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 if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to beat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The past few years has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {