American Male Major Title Dry Spell Is Not Taylor Fritz's Responsibility to Carry

I have some opinions about the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive power on each forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak 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 the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {