US Male Major Title Dry Spell Isn't Fritz's Burden to Carry

I have a few thoughts about the comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller 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’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, 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 Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {