US Men's Grand Slam Dry Spell Isn't Fritz's Burden to Carry

I have a few thoughts regarding that remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {