I just watched Sebastian Korda play an absolutely sublime tennis match in Delray Beach against No. 2 seed Casper Ruud. He has done everything he is capable of, but he has not been able to do that for a few years. And it got me thinking about the state of American men’s tennis.
I don’t want to say anything too soon, but it feels like it’s on the verge of a revival. Twenty-three years ago, the US had its last Grand Slam winner: Andy Roddick at the US Open in 2003. And in the decades since, it has been a parade of European champions with two more South American representatives in the form of Gaston Gaudio (French Open 2004) and Juan Martin del Potro (US Open 2009).
To call it an American drought would be understating the matter. The country that gave us John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi fell silent. To be fair to the John Isner and Sam Querrey generation, they faced the great Fedalovic (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic) at the height of their respective careers. The fact that Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray each managed to win three in that time is an extraordinary achievement. So I’m not going to lash out at Isner or Stevie Johnson or any of that crew.
But the fact remains that American fans have all but given up on patriotic cheering and adopted these global citizens, Federer and Nadal. I have to admit, I started to wonder if American men’s tennis could ever emerge from relative obscurity. And… I think the answer is a tentative yes. Ben Shelton, Learner Tien, Alex Michelsen make a statement along with Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz.
Three of the four semifinalists in Delray are Americans: Korda, Tien and Paul or Fritz. And they didn’t end up there by accident. There have been no retirements and the quality was excellent this week. Simply put, the American contingent was impressive.
So, how far away from a Grand Slam title?
It’s hard to say, but it feels imminent for the first time in a decade and a half. Fritz reached a Slam final in 2024. If you held my feet to the fire and had me predict which player is most likely to do that, I’d say Shelton – because of how successful he’s proven to be in the best-of-five format. But if it ends up being Ten or Fritz, I probably wouldn’t be shocked.
#rebirth #American #mens #tennis