Opportunity knocks for American men at US Open

With Tiafoe, Fritz, Paul and Nakashima into the last 16 and Djokovic and Alcaraz gone, hopes of a first American male slam winner since 2003 are rising

Aflo / Panoramic

Simon Cambers

September 1, 2024

It’s now 21 years since an American man last won the US Open – Andy Roddick the last man to get over the line in any major – a stat that the current crop of players know only too well and occasionally roll their eyes when the topic of who might be next champion is raised.

But there’s no getting away from the fact that at this year’s US Open, after the exits of first Carlos Alcaraz and then Novak Djokovic, the draw is wide open for one of them to come through and make a big run, with Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Brandon Nakashima all into the last 16.

Of course, the fact that the top two seeds have gone adds pressure on their shoulders but it’s also a huge opportunity for someone to put their head over the parapet and make a name for themselves. And they know it.

COMPETITION DRIVING EACH OTHER ON

Roddick himself says he wants to see a “healthy jealousy” among the American men, supporting each other but also driving them on to be the best of the lot, without ever crossing a line.

“I love having all the other Americans going deep in tournaments, kind of rolling off of each other,” said Paul, who beat Gabriel Dallo in four sets to reach the last 16. “I don’t know that me watching one American win helps me win, but I mean, I love seeing it. I think we have a really good group right now.”

Jut like the Australian men, who have been having their best US Open for almost 30 years, the Americans are bouncing off each other. Even if it’s not explicit, the thought that one of them could be the one to break through must be giving them a boost.

“I don’t think we talk about the fact no one has won a slam, because that’s pretty obvious,” said Fritz, who plays Casper Ruud on Sunday. “I think we all know that. We all want to be the ones to end it. But, I mean, we don’t really talk about that. We’ve talked about the fact that we’ve got five guys are now in the top 20. We’ve talked about like we just have a lot of good players, but not so much about the fact no one has won one.”

Tiafoe, who took out another of America’s big hopes, Ben Shelton in a blockbuster third-round battle, was asked who he thought would be the one to break the drought.

“If you think I’m going to say anybody else but me, you’re crazy,” he said, before eventually suggesting Seb Korda might be the one, once he had agreed to exclude himself.

Building the pyramid

Tiafoe, Paul and Shelton have all been to a Grand Slam semi-final, while Fritz had made four quarter-finals and continues to knock on the door. Expectations, and certainly hopes, are rising fast.

But rather than focusing on the ultimate goal of Grand Slam glory, speaking before his defeat by Tiafoe, Shelton said the important thing was that the Americans continued to build on what they have done already.

“The quality of US men’s tennis is 100 percent on the rise,” he said. “I think that we’ve had a lot of guys for a while that you think are going to start pushing through into the top 15, top 10, guys who have already been there as well who are finding their form again.

“This is the most guys that we’ve had in this competitive position in a while. The guy who’s recently made that big push is Sebi Korda. Whenever somebody has that big push, it kind of puts the other guys on alert and I think makes them play even better.

“Like when I had become the No. 1 American this year for four and a half minutes, Taylor Fritz got hot. I’m not saying that’s because of me, but just a by-product, maybe coincidence. I think that the more that we continue to push each other, we’re moving in the right direction.

“Everybody wants that big Grand Slam or next big moment for an American star, but I think the gradual improvement and progression is what’s really going to put Americans more towards the top of the game.”

With Nakashima also in the mix, the quartet left in the draw here all have hope. And a big opportunity.