American Men's Grand Slam Dry Spell Isn't Fritz's Responsibility to Bear
I possess a few opinions regarding the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.
Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?
Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories
The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his upside.
Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.
The American star achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.
The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.
The contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up 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 had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.
Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)
ATP Finals: Singles Groups
Jimmy Connors Group
- Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
- The American contender
- Alex de Minaur (Aus)
- The Italian stylist
Bjorn Borg Group
- Jannik Sinner (It)
- The German powerhouse
- Ben Shelton (US)
- Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)
“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {
