American Men's Grand Slam Drought Is Not Fritz's Responsibility to Bear

I possess some opinions about that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American 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 subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest 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 ongoing drought of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not only express how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {