American Men's Grand Slam Dry Spell Is Not Fritz's Responsibility to Carry

I have some opinions about that comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, 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 patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {