American men look more promising than they have in 20 years

NEW YORK — Moments after his convincing second-round victory, Ben Shelton was asked about his next opponent.

Sweaty and with a soaked towel draped over his shoulder on a scorching Wednesday afternoon, Shelton claimed he didn’t know he would be playing Frances Tiafoe in the third round of the US Open. Shelton said he doesn’t look at the draw in advance, but it didn’t take long for him to get used to the idea.

“You’ve got this draw exciting early in the week, haven’t you?” he said, grinning at the excited crowd at Grandstand. “I’m really looking forward to it. We had a quarter-final battle here last year. I’m sure it’ll be another popcorn-y match.”

On Friday, in front of a packed and likely raucous crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the two Americans will play with a fourth-round spot at stake. It promises to be one of the hottest tickets for the 2024 US Open and there is already a palpable buzz around the venue. But while only one of the pair can advance to the second week, their much-hyped match perhaps epitomizes the current state of American men’s tennis and the excitement surrounding its top group of players.

While there’s endless talk about the U.S. men’s 21-year major title drought, there are currently five American men in the top 20, including Shelton (No. 13) and Tiafoe (No. 20). The group has racked up wins, generated viral moments and headlines — and appears closer to snapping the streak than it’s been in years.

And they believe that one of them can win it.

“We’ve all played really well,” Tiafoe said Wednesday. “There’s a window, there’s an opening in the game … I think this is absolutely the (Slam) we can win. We just haven’t done it yet. We’ve got five guys in the top 20, all the guys are dangerous, all the guys are capable. It’s kind of a ‘why not?’ thing.”

When Andy Roddick lifted the trophy at the 2003 U.S. Open, few could have predicted that decades would pass without another American doing the same. Given the contenders over the years — including Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, both of whom had won recent titles at the time — it seemed almost certain that Roddick and the new generation would take up the torch.

Of course, few could have predicted the rise and dominance of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic over the next two decades. It was not to be for the American men.

“If someone had told me that back then, I would have said, ‘That’s f—ed up,'” Roddick’s coach Brad Gilbert, who previously coached Agassi, told ESPN last year. “Up until that point, we always expected American men to win because that’s what we always had.”

Sam Querrey reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2017, with John Isner doing the same at the tournament the following year. Tiafoe stunned the 2022 US Open crowd with a dazzling run to the semifinals — including a fourth-round victory over Nadal — and Shelton reached the last four at last year’s tournament. Tommy Paul, currently No. 14, reached the semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open.

Taylor Fritz, currently the highest-ranked American at No. 12, has reached four major quarterfinals, including last year’s US Open and Wimbledon earlier this summer. During the season, Fritz and Paul have each won two ATP titles, and Shelton has won one.

Entering the third round of the U.S. Open, Tiafoe, Shelton, Fritz, Paul and No. 50 Brandon Nakashima are all still in the draw. (Sebastian Korda, the other compatriot in the top 20, lost in the second round on Thursday.) Fritz said no one in the group talks about the fact that no American has won a Grand Slam in 21 years because it’s “pretty obvious,” but he knows they all use it privately as motivation.

“We all want to be the ones to end it,” Fritz said earlier this week.

On Friday, Fritz will play unseeded Francisco Comesana, and Nakashima, who defeated 16th-seeded Holger Rune in the first round, will have to dig deep to find a way to beat 18th-seeded and Olympic bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti. On Saturday, Paul will play Gabriel Diallo.

Martin Blackman, USTA general manager of player development, who has worked with many of the top Americans since their early teens, is optimistic about the group’s chances as a whole at the US Open and beyond.

“I think American tennis, men’s and women’s, is in the best place it’s been since 1996,” Blackman said Thursday. “We’ve been trying for 15 years to get here. I believe all five of (the top-ranked male players) can win a Grand Slam. It may not happen, but I believe all five are capable of it. They’ve all been willing to make sacrifices and put their all into this and they’re not just happy or satisfied to get to the quarterfinals or the round of 16.”

The American women have fared considerably better in the past two decades. Serena and Venus Williams have won multiple Grand Slam titles, and Sloane Stephens, Sofia Kenin and Coco Gauff have also won one each.

Blackman believes the women’s success, particularly the 2017 US Open in which four American women reached the semi-finals and Stephens won the title, was the turning point for the current crop of American men.

“That was kind of a start, and it was probably a nice wake-up call for the guys,” Blackman said. “I think the attention and the visibility that the women got for that amazing performance created a sense of urgency and was part of the equation to get to this point.”

In the 2023 meeting between Tiafoe and Shelton, the two friends battled to a four-set draw in front of a captive Ashe crowd. Tiafoe, the more established veteran, was the crowd and bookmakers’ favorite, but Shelton, then just 20 and in his first full year on tour, won over the fans with his fearless play, relentless energy and powerful hitting. Shelton won 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-2.

The two met again in the Houston final in April, with Shelton winning in three sets. Both players know Friday’s third round could again be the distance — and by any means — but seemed excited about the challenge.

“These are the kind of races that I love, that I live for,” Shelton told reporters Wednesday. “Because I was able to do it a little bit earlier in this draw, it still feels the same (as last year).”

The winner on Friday will likely set up a clash with Djokovic, the 24-time major champion. Djokovic defeated Shelton in an entertaining match in the 2023 semifinals that was immortalized when Djokovic used a “hang up the phone” gesture to mock Shelton’s earlier celebratory phone gesture. Djokovic, who recently won Olympic gold in Paris, remains the favorite to win the title, along with 2022 champion Carlos Alcaraz, who won both the French Open and Wimbledon this year, and world No. 1 and Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner.

Of course, neither Shelton nor Tiafoe were thinking beyond Friday when they spoke to the media on Wednesday. But Shelton knew that whatever happened in his third-round match, and throughout the tournament, would likely only help further advance the nation’s elite.

“The quality of American men’s tennis is 100 percent on the rise,” Shelton said. “When (one American finds momentum), it puts the other guys on their toes and I think they play even better because of it. Like when I was the No. 1 American for four and a half minutes this year, Taylor Fritz got hot. I’m not saying that’s because of me, it’s just a byproduct, maybe a coincidence. I think the more we keep pushing each other, the more we’re going to go in the right direction.

“Everyone wants that next Grand Slam (title) or the next big moment for an American star, but I think gradual improvement and progression will really get the Americans closer to the top of the game.”