American Drought
Matt Cronin
It has now been 20 years that the American men have not won a Grand Slam. In the 2003 U.S. Open, Andy Roddick grabbed the title by beating Juan Carlos Ferrero in three sets by serving huge and unleashing his massive forehand. Also engaging and talkative off the court, he could mix it up from the back of the court and was super-competitive.
That was a very good era, as Roddick was joined by other talented players like James Blake, Mardy Fish and the Bryans in doubles, and it looked like they might have a chance to win another Grand Slam. But they did not.
In the 1990s, there had been an even better group, as Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Michael Chang all won Slams and were consistently at the highest levels of the game. They had a variety of games, with Sampras's big-serving, attacking game, Agassi's return and baseline accuracy, Courier with his run-around forehand and Chang's determination and running.
But Roddick and the rest of the American men soon fell behind three astonishing European men. Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic started to dominate almost every week, on the hardcourts, on the clay and on the grass. Combined, they have won 65 Grand Slams, which is jaw-dropping.
Not only did they become much better than the rest of the field, they actually kept improving parts of their game. Federer refined his one-handed backhand, Nadal his two-handed backhand, and Djokovic changed his forehand, along with many small adjustments that have allowed them to become very rounded players.
It is the way they can run side to side, bend down and put it away the ball at the net, or put the lob up high, smash a winner. Essentially, they have done almost all of it.
And while there is talk of a new and talented generation emerging in American men's tennis, they're still a long way from that level -- very good, but not great yet. Or at all.
Take at the U.S. men who are ranked in the top 30 -- Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Sebastian Korda and Christopher Eubanks. Even setting aside the Grand Slams and looking at the Masters 1000s, only Fritz has won one, at the 2022 Indian Wells. That is it. The rest have not reached the final at the 1000 level, though they have recently have some deep runs.
Still, at least Tiafoe went on a tear to get into the semis at the 2022 U.S. Open, when he upset Nadal and Andrey Rublev, before he lost against Carlos Alcaraz in five incredible sets. Tiafoe is very swift, and he can be very patient. He can clip his forehand and his backhand, but he has yet to win a huge title because he isn't patient enough. Plus, his return is not yet that good, and he doesn't flatten his groundstrokes as often as he should.
Tommy Paul has had a very good year, reaching semifinals of the Australian Open, the final at Acapulco, Eastbourne, and the semis at Toronto. A few years ago, the 26-year-old wasn't in the Top 50 and now he is No. 13, a career high. Back then, when he had a chance to knock into the corners, he would back off.
His forehand and his backhand were solid, but last year, he finally start it to mix it up a lot, and his movement is now very good. He's beaten No.1 Carlos Alcaraz and gone three sets with him in back-to-back weeks on hardcourts going into the US Open. Paul will have to push himself there in best-of-five sets, though, because he can get nerves at the important moments.
There are a lot of questions about whether Sebastian Korda will eventually win a Slam. His father, Petr, won the 1998 Aussie Open, and he's already won the junior Aussie Open.The 23-year-old is still pretty young and has a smooth, honed game, but is coming back from injuries and has yet to get a huge win at a big event.
Eubanks had an outstanding year, as the 27-year-old couldn't get into the Top-100 club for many years. Recently, the 6 foot-7, big-serving college champion has started to hit his one-handed backhand harder and is coming into the net regularly. That helped him win his first tour title on the grass of Mallorca, and reach the quarters of Wimbledon, along with another quarterfinal at Miami. (Click Here to see his incredible first serve.)
Yet it would be improbable if they were to go two or three rounds further in two weeks at the U.S. Open. Yes, if the top 5 players go out early, then suddenly, the Americans -- like a lot of players -- will have a chance in Flushing Meadows. But they are still lacking experience -- in 2003, Roddick had won three 1000s before he won a Grand Slam. He was ready to dance. The current American players are enthusiastic, but their lifting the trophy would be stunning. Maybe next year.
