American Male Major Title Drought Is Not Fritz's Burden to Bear

I have some opinions about the remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class serve 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 handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles 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 insufficient.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {