Yearly the drought continues, the query hangs over the U.S. Open.
Who would be the subsequent American man to win the match in Queens?
Andy Roddick stays the final to take action, however his 2003 U.S. Open championship occurred greater than 20 years in the past. That’s the final title received by an American man at any of the 4 Grand Slam occasions.
And whereas U.S. males’s tennis has been on the upswing — with Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe all incomes top-10 rankings lately — nobody has been in a position to break via on the largest match on American soil.
“There’s a window,” Tiafoe stated finally 12 months’s Open. “There’s an opening in the game. … We had three greats playing at the same time and winning events. Obviously, you had some sleepers come out of nowhere and win the U.S. Open.”
Certainly, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are retired, whereas Novak Djokovic is 38 years outdated. That worldwide trio mixed to win 13 Opens from 2004-2023.
Final 12 months marked the primary time two American males met in a U.S. Open semifinal since 2005, with Fritz defeating Tiafoe in an instant-classic five-set marathon.
Fritz grew to become the primary American since Roddick in 2006 to achieve the Open closing, however Italy’s Jannik Sinner cruised previous him in straight units to say the 2024 championship.
It’s been a very long time since Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras received 5 Open titles apiece, or when John McEnroe claimed 4.
“Everybody wants that big next Grand Slam or next big moment for an American star,” Shelton stated final 12 months. “But I think the gradual improvement and progression is what’s really going to put Americans more towards the top of the game.”
Fritz enters this 12 months’s Open because the No. 4 participant within the ATP rankings, whereas Shelton is No. 6, Paul is No. 14 and Tiafoe is No. 17.
However the U.S. males’s pursuit of historical past is much from the one storyline going into the 2025 U.S. Open, which begins Sunday and runs via Sept. 7.
Right here’s what else to look ahead to on the USTA Billie Jean King Nationwide Tennis Middle.
COCO REDO
Final 12 months’s U.S. Open didn’t go as Coco Gauff hoped.
After successful the Open as a 19-year-old in 2023, Gauff entered final 12 months’s match with sky-high expectations, solely to be eradicated within the fourth spherical by one other American, Emma Navarro, within the fourth spherical.
“Because I’m wanting to reach a different level, it is disappointing,” Gauff stated on the time. “But I’m not going to beat myself up and be, like, ‘This was so bad.’ Yeah, I expect better, but at the end of the day it happened, and I know I can turn it around.”
Gauff rebounded to win this 12 months’s French Open for her second main singles title.
Nevertheless, Gauff — who’s No. 3 within the WTA rankings — returns to the U.S. Open after a down efficiency on the Cincinnati Open, the place she served 16 double faults throughout a quarterfinal loss to Jasmine Paolini.
SIN CITY
If not for a meltdown on the French Open, the 24-year-old Sinner could be looking for a sweep of this 12 months’s Grand Slam tournaments.
As a substitute, Sinner misplaced in 5 units to Carlos Alcaraz at Roland-Garros in June, regardless of successful the primary two units.
Nonetheless, Sinner has a lot to realize at this 12 months’s U.S. Open, the place he arrives because the defending champion and because the world’s top-ranked participant.
After successful this 12 months’s Australian Open and Wimbledon, Sinner would change into the twelfth man to win three Grand Slam occasions in a single season. The final to do it was Djokovic in 2023.
REMATCH?
Whereas this has been the summer season of Sinner, it actually has been a profitable few months for Alcaraz, too.
After his comeback victory at Roland-Garros, Alcaraz met Sinner within the Wimbledon closing, with the latter successful in 4 units.
Ought to the world’s prime two gamers meet within the U.S. Open closing, it will mark the third consecutive Grand Slam match the place they confronted one another on the finish.
Sinner and Alcaraz have squared off as soon as earlier than on the Open, with Alcaraz successful their 2022 quarterfinal matchup in 4 units.
MUST-WATCH WILLIAMS
Venus Williams is about to compete on the Open as a wild-card entrant, marking her first Grand Slam match in two years.
Her earlier such look additionally got here on the Open, the place she misplaced within the first spherical in 2023.
Williams, 45, received the Open in 2000 and 2001. The seven-time Grand Slam champion final superior to the second spherical of the Open in 2019.
“Coming off of this match, I feel amazing,” Williams stated after this month’s first-round exit on the Cincinnati Open, based on ESPN.
“So that means that in this next period [ahead of the U.S. Open] I won’t have to fix injuries. Now I can work on power and speed instead of trying to just make sure I’m not hurt going into the tournament.”
Venus Williams, seen right here on the 2023 US Open, is again for the primary time since then. (Picture by Al Bello/Getty Photographs)
DJOKER JUXTAPOSTION
The final two U.S. Opens couldn’t have gone extra in another way for Djokovic.
He received the match in 2023, defeating Daniil Medvedev for his twenty fourth main title, which stays a document.
However final 12 months, Djokovic suffered an all-time upset to No. 28 Alexei Popyrin within the third spherical, saying afterward he performed “some of the worst tennis I have ever played.”
The 2023 Open stays Djokovic’s final Grand Slam title. And whereas Djokovic has not indicated retirement is imminent, he has urged a number of instances this 12 months that he doesn’t understand how for much longer he’ll play.
“My wish is to play for several more years,” Djokovic stated at Wimbledon in June. “I would love to be healthy physically and also mentally motivated to keep on playing at the highest level. That’s the goal. But you never know at this stage.”
For that motive, Djokovic — like Williams — is a must-watch at this 12 months’s Open.
AMERICAN MOMENTUM
Fritz, Tiafoe, Shelton and firm aren’t the one People looking for U.S. Open glory.
A pair of U.S. girls — Jessica Pegula and Navarro — additionally search to construct on final 12 months’s success on the match.
The Buffalo-born Pegula, 31, reached the Open closing final 12 months, the place she misplaced to Aryna Sabalenka.
That was the primary journey to a Grand Slam closing for Pegula, who’s the world’s No. 4-ranked participant and nonetheless seeks her first main championship.
Navarro, too, seeks her first Grand Slam title.
The native New Yorker’s run to the Open semifinal final 12 months stays her finest end at a significant match.
Navarro, 24, additionally misplaced to Sabalenka finally 12 months’s match. She enters this 12 months’s occasion at No. 11 within the WTA rankings.
