American Male Grand Slam Dry Spell Isn't Taylor Fritz's Responsibility to Bear
I possess some thoughts about the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.
We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?
Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories
The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his upside.
Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of American men lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.
The American star achieved a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.
Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.
The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough 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 win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.
Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)
ATP Finals: Player Divisions
Jimmy Connors Group
- The Spanish phenom
- The American contender
- The Australian speedster
- Lorenzo Musetti (It)
Bjorn Borg Group
- Jannik Sinner (It)
- The German powerhouse
- Ben Shelton (US)
- Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)
“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {
