Andy Roddick turned 42 on Friday and remains the last American to win a Grand Slam singles title.
It was 21 years ago, in 2003.
Europeans have dominated men’s tennis over the past two decades, winning 77 of the last 78 major titles. The “Big Three” of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have won a combined 66 Grand Slams since Wimbledon in 2003.
American tennis is more promising than ever. Five Americans are ranked in the Top 20 of the world rankings and four of them are among the 16 finalists of the US Open: Taylor Fritz (12th), Tommy Paul (14th), Frances Tiafoe (20th) and Brandon Nakashima (50th).
This is the second straight year that four Americans have reached the round of 16. The last time it happened in back-to-back years was 2002-03.
Ben Shelton, the world number 13 who lost to Tiafoe in five sets in the third round on Friday, believes it is “inevitable” that an American will win another major.
“I think the gradual improvement in the rankings of American players over the last three or four years is evidence that we’re moving in the right direction,” Shelton, the 21-year-old Atlanta native, said before the Open. “I think it’s inevitable that we’re going to have a Grand Slam champion in our country. I don’t know when that’s going to happen or who it’s going to be.”
The US Open field expanded considerably with the surprises of No. 2 seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic and No. 3 seed and 2022 champion Carlos Alcaraz.
“The stars just have to align,” former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios told ESPN ahead of the upsets. “If [world No. 1 Jannik] Sinner or Alcaraz falls in the third or fourth round, who knows? Novak is getting old.
“I think the Americans have a really good chance now, I really like their chances.”
Paul, who was born in southern New Jersey and later moved to Greenville, North Carolina, will have a chance to pull off another major upset when he faces Sinner in the fourth round after knocking out 6-foot-8 Canadian Gabriel Diallo, a former Kentucky star, in four sets.
He thinks, why not me?
“I mean, you see what happens, but I knew I had a tough game today and I was really worried about that,” Paul told ESPN’s Rennae Stubbs on the court.
“If Sinner wins, it certainly wouldn’t be an easy match.”
Sinner, who beat Australian Chris O’Connell in three sets on Saturday, is 2-1 against the American and is one of only two men left in the draw to have won a Grand Slam title (Australian Open). The other, No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, is also in this quarter-final.
“I’m really excited to play this match [against Sinner]I hope you can come and we can produce something great there, so I’m really excited,” Paul said.
Sunday will be a big day for the Americans, with Fritz taking on No. 6 Casper Ruud, a former US Open finalist, and Nakashima meeting No. 4 Alexander Zverev, also a former Open finalist, in the afternoon session on Louis Armstrong. Both are expected to enjoy massive crowd support.
Fritz, the top-ranked American, has reached the fourth round of all four majors this season.
“It’s a pretty cool thing for me to do because last year I was really struggling with Grand Slam results,” said Fritz, who lost in three sets to Djokovic in last year’s quarterfinals.
Nakashima advances to his first fourth round at the Open after beating Olympic bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti in four sets on Friday.
“To get to the fourth round, as an American, it’s just a very exciting moment for me,” he said.
“To play in front of such a crowd, to have the support of my countrymen, it’s really special. I’m going to cherish these moments as I go through them.”
Tiafoe is expected to have huge support in the night session when he takes on Australian Alexei Popyrin, who smothered Djokovic in four sets on Friday night.
It’s their first meeting, but Tiafoe must think he has an excellent chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Beyond that, he and other Americans must ask themselves: “Why not me?”
“Yeah, we all want to be that guy,” Tiafoe said on ESPN. “There’s no secret behind it, but I think every year we get closer and closer and hopefully it’s the right one.”
