By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday August 25, 2023
The US Open draw is a blueprint for American breakthrough, says Frances Tiafoe.
Twenty years ago, a 21-year-old Andy Roddick defeated David Nalbandian and Juan Carlos Ferrero to capture the 2003 US Open championship.
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Former world No. 1 Roddick remains the last American man to raise a Grand Slam singles trophy.
A year ago, Tiafoe made a phenomenal run to the US Open semifinals where he tested eventual-champion Carlos Alcaraz losing in a five-set thriller.
Returning to New York to meet the media today, Big Foe sounds like a man on a major mission.
The 10th-ranked Tiafoe says “it’s a matter of time” before an American man breaks through to master a major.
“I think American tennis is in a great place,” Tiafoe told the media in his pre-tournament presser. “Tommy Paul is playing great tennis. Fritz, myself. You have Chris, Ben, Korda. I think American tennis is in a great place.
“I think it’s a matter of time, whether it happens here, whether it happens in due time. Obviously what Andy did in ’03 was incredible. I think we hear it more than he probably hears it, what he did in ’03. Yeah, I hope one of us are able to do it. I hope when we do do it, it’s here at the Open. It will be cool. It will be cool.”
At the Australian Open in January three American men—Tommy Paul, Sebastian Korda and Ben Shelton—reached the last eight with Paul advancing to the semifinals bowing to Novak Djokovic.
Big-serving Christopher Eubanks made his maiden major quarterfinal at Wimbledon last month pushing 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev to five sets before falling.
Arriving in New York as the No. 22 seed last summer, Tiafoe tore through the field toppling seeds Diego Schwartzman, Rafa Nadal and Andrey Rublev en route to the semifinals.
Eleven American men are ranked inside the ATP Top 100. Five American men—Taylor Fritz, Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Christopher Eubanks and Sebastian Korda—are seeded in New York.
Citing the combination of accomplished young Americans and festive (and sometimes lubricated) Flushing Meadows fan base hungry for U.S. success, Tiafoe is hopeful American men can celebrate the 20th anniversary of Roddick’s US Open run with a home run of their own. Tiafoe knows from experience how fans can fuel an energized extended run in New York.
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