I just watched Sebastian Korda play some great tennis in Delray Beach against No. 2 Casper Ruud. He’s doing all the things he knows how to do but hasn’t been able to do in a few years. And it got me thinking about the state of American men’s tennis.
I don’t want to talk too soon, but it sounds like it might start again. Twenty-three years ago, the US had its last Slam winner – Andy Roddick at the US Open tournament in 2003. And in the decades since then, it has been a showcase for European champions and two other South American representatives such as Gaston Gaudio (2004 French Open) and Juan Martin del Potro (2009 US Open).
To call it an American drought would be an understatement. The country that gave us John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi fell silent. Well done to John Isner and Sam Querrey for a generation, they were facing the Fedalovic (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic) juggernaut at the height of their games. The fact that Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray managed to win three sets in that time is an amazing feat. So I can take a swipe at Isner or Stevie Johnson or any team.
But the truth is that the American fans have largely abandoned the country’s excitement and embraced those citizens of the world, Federer and Nadal. I will admit that I began to wonder if US men’s tennis would ever return to relative prominence. And…I think the answer is a temporary yes. Ben Shelton, Student Tien, Alex Michelsen and Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz made a statement.
Three of the four semifinalists in Delray are Americans – Sebastian Korda, Student Tien, and Tommy Paul or Taylor Fritz. And they didn’t get there by accident. There were no retirees and the quality this week was excellent. Simply put, the American team has impressed.
So how far away is the Slam title? It’s hard to say, but it feels close for the first time in a decade and a half. Fritz reached the finals of the Slam in 2024. If you held my feet to the fire and made me predict which player is most likely to do so, I would say Shelton, because of the way he has been in top five form. But if it ends up being Tien or Fritz himself, maybe I won’t be shocked.
