US Male Major Title Dry Spell Isn't Fritz's Burden to Carry

I have some opinions regarding that comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, 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 defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {