US Male Major Title Dry Spell Is Not Fritz's Burden to Carry

I possess some thoughts regarding the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, 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 ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {