🔗 Share this article US Male Grand Slam Dry Spell Is Not Fritz's Responsibility to Bear I have some opinions about that comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition. We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world in succession. He is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind? The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his upside. Fritz has made a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on 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. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler 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 US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little. The American star achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July. Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves. The match was quite compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – 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 tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could. The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.) Year-End Championships: Player Divisions Jimmy Connors Group Carlos Alcaraz (Sp) The American contender Alex de Minaur (Aus) The Italian stylist Bjorn Borg Division The Italian champion The German powerhouse The rising American Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can) “I would likely think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of claiming 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 dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {