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

I have a few opinions regarding that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player 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 ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When he eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic 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 final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {