🔗 Share this article US Male Major Title Dry Spell Isn't Fritz's Burden to Bear I possess some opinions regarding that comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition. We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain? Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success The American, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive power on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his potential. The American has achieved a several significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient. The American star achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in July. Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances 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 real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves. The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could. Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.) ATP Finals: Player Divisions American legend Division Carlos Alcaraz (Sp) The American contender Alex de Minaur (Aus) The Italian stylist Swedish icon Division Jannik Sinner (It) The German powerhouse The rising American The Canadian talent “I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {