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

I possess a few opinions regarding the comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American, 28, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, 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 he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {