NEW YORK — At this point, it's a four-times-a-year rite of passage when it comes to the state of tennis for American men.
Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open is the last American man to win a Grand Slam singles title. And the talk of no U.S. man hoisting a championship trophy at the end of a major yet again is not only becoming repetitive, but, after a 23-year drought, it is starting to evolve into an uncomfortable norm.
But make no mistake: American men are more than capable of making a run at any tournament, including Grand Slams.
This year alone, Ben Shelton has an ATP Masters 1000 title in Montreal, and Frances Tiafoe reached the final in Cincinnati. There are five other Americans ranked in the top 50, including Taylor Fritz and Learner Tien,
and all of them are under the age of 30.
As usual in the past couple of years, there have been two main reasons why few men, including the Americans, have broken through and triumphed on the big stage: namely, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Alexander Zverev finally got his moment of glory when he captured the French Open title in June, and the German is the top seed at this year's US Open. Zverev received the No. 1 seed because Sinner, the No. 1 player on the ATP Tour, will not play in New York, withdrawing from the tournament with a knee injury.
Alcaraz is the defending US Open champ and ran through last year's field in dominant fashion, dropping only one set on his way to the title. But the seven-time Grand Slam champion is coming back from his own injury issues and will play in a singles event for the first time since April after a wrist injury.
While speculation has run rampant about the obvious struggles Americans face in getting over the hump and the reasons why, there are at least some in the industry who think this is the year all that talk gets set aside.
“I'm picking Big Ben. I'm going for it. I like Shelton to win the Open. I can stop getting this question after 20-some years: When is the next American going to win a major? I'm sick of it! I'm tired of it," ESPN tennis analyst Patrick McEnroe said to SportsBoom.
McEnroe, though, still thinks Alcaraz is one to beat, despite his long layoff.
“He shows up; he's the favorite," McEnroe said. "He's not as big of a favorite as he would be if he had been playing. If he had been playing most of the year, he'd be a huge, huge favorite.”
Tiafoe reiterated that it doesn't matter who is playing in the tournament; you still have to beat seven players to win a trophy, and all he is thinking about is beating the guy in front of him. And any time Roddick, an International Tennis Hall of Famer, is mentioned, athletes know exactly where the topic is headed during interviews.
"I mean it's gonna be a conversation until someone does something about it, right? Obviously, we are, and we're getting the best effort," Tiafoe told USA TODAY Sports. "It is what it is. Andy did what he did a few years ago. But I think we've been knocking on the door. It's gonna be interesting. We all have high hopes for it. We all think we can. And I really think this group (Shelton, Fritz, himself) is gonna be the group to do it."
Tiafoe has been on quite a roll, despite right-hand surgery earlier this month and some newly admitted hip problems. But the 28-year-old two-time US Open semifinalist firmly believes that the bad streak is ending soon.
"And I think a bunch of us can at least get one or two by the time it's all said and done, if not, north of that. But yeah, hell yeah, I believe it," Tiafoe, who lost in the third round last year, said.
Shelton agrees with Tiafoe on taking the tournament one match at a time, but wasn't exactly in the mood to hear any perceived disrespect about how the American men have been performing.
"I think to kind of discredit the group that is playing high-level tennis right now wouldn't be smart," Shelton said. "Going into a tournament like this, I think I always have respect for whoever is playing. I try not to over-respect my opponents, obviously. But I think it is a very important part of who I am as a person and how I look at my tennis game and the tournaments I'm playing in."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: American men express confidence at US Open. Will Grand Slam drought finally end?
