New York (AFP) – A late summer surge by top American players has raised hopes that the 2026 US Open could be the event where US men end their Grand Slam title drought. While the women’s draw features multiple US women with Grand Slams, including the seeds Coco Gauff and Madison Keys, no US man has won a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick prevailed in New York in 2003.
But American men won two of the leading warmup tournaments ahead of the New York Grand Slam, with Taylor Fritz triumphing in Washington and Ben Shelton winning in Montreal, a 1,000-level tournament, the highest level under the Grand Slams. In the latter tournament, Shelton beat another American in the final, Brandon Nakashima. The August hard-court stretch also saw impressive play by Frances Tiafoe, who reached the final of Cincinnati before falling to France’s Arthur Fils.
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“I think the Americans have been playing great tennis leading into the US Open,” said 20th seed Tommy Paul following a first-round win on Sunday over Coleman Wong of Hong Kong in four sets. “This is always where we want to play well,” Paul said. “To get across the line, I’m not sure. Obviously we’re going to have to play really, really good tennis and really clutch tennis.”
Adding to the sense of opportunity has been the withdrawal of world number one Jannik Sinner due to a knee injury, while defending champion and number two seed Carlos Alcaraz hasn’t played a singles match since April due to a wrist injury. Top seed Alexander Zverev won his first Grand Slam title at the French Open in June, but lost early in both Montreal and Cincinnati this summer, while 24-time Grand Slam titlist Novak Djokovic also lost early in Cincinnati.
Tiafoe, a two-time semifinalist in New York, described Sinner’s absence as a non-issue for him, saying “still gotta beat seven guys however way you slice it.” Tiafoe, who pulled out of the US Open mixed doubles event after the long Cincinnati run, said he felt “pretty good” and would be ready for his first round, which takes place Monday night against fellow American Martin Damm.
A US Open semifinalist in 2023, Shelton also opens Monday night, playing Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands. Shelton, who didn’t drop a set in Montreal, said he isn’t looking past his first match at this point. “I know how much quality that there is in the draw. I think it would be disrespectful to just think, oh, there’s no Sinner, it’s a massive opportunity,” Shelton said.
The top half of the draw, which is led by Zverev, includes ninth-seeded Fritz, along with 14th-seeded American Learner Tien, a semifinalist in Montreal. Paul is in the bottom half of the draw, along with Alcaraz and Djokovic, the eighth-seeded Shelton, 11th-seeded Tiafoe and 16th-seeded Nakashima.
© 2024 AFP
