US Men's Major Title Drought Is Not Fritz's Responsibility to Carry

I possess some opinions regarding the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American, 28, is placed number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, 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 surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {