US Men's Grand Slam Drought Isn't Taylor Fritz's Burden to Carry

I have some thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was 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 slump of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, 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 real battle and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {