Trio of American men trying to end 21-year U.S. Open drought

And then there were three.

Seventeen men from the United States entered the 2024 U.S. Open as part of the 128-player pool, including five players seeded inside the top 20. As the slam approached its business end on Monday, only world No. 14 Tommy Paul, No. 12 Taylor Fritz and No. 20 Frances Tiafoe remained alive.

While Paul will face World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the fourth-round on Monday (scheduled for 8:15 pm EST), Fritz and Tiafoe could be on a collision course in the semifinals if they can beat No. 4 Alexander Zverev and No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov, respectively, in their quarterfinal matches on Tuesday. 

Out of the three, it's fair to suggest that Fritz has been the most impressive and is in the form of his life heading into his quarterfinal match. The 26-year-old San Diego native crushed his first three opponents in straight sets before beating No. 8 Casper Ruud in four sets in the Round of 16. The victory against Ruud — the 2022 U.S. Open finalist — was a statement win as the Norwegian ran away with the first set, and seemed in total control up 2-1 in the second set. Just then, a switch went off in Fritz, who fed off the lively Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd and began firing winners at will.  

Fritz converted on as many as 40 percent of his break points while Ruud seized only 17 percent of those chances. The American also hit 56 winners to Ruud's 32, and even out-served the Norwegian, firing 24 aces to Ruud's four. Fritz was in his element, cruising to a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 win.

As for Paul and Tiafoe, both men endured tougher roads to the Round of 16, going through tough four- and five-set battles. While they haven't been as dominant as Fritz, they've shown resolve in getting this far into the final slam of 2024. Those tough battles could work in their favor in the second week.

Is the tide turning?

Regardless of how things shake out, the fact that three American men are still alive in the U.S. Open is a step in the right direction for the country. Before Brandon Nakashima lost to Zverev in the fourth round on Sunday, as many as four Americans had reached the Round of 16 for the second consecutive year. The last time that happened in back-to-back years? 2002 and 2003.

As is well documented, no American man has won the U.S. Open since Andy Roddick in 2023. With Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz out of the picture, a golden opportunity awaits. Even Djokovic acknowledged as much after his shocking ouster on Friday night. 

While the gradual improvement of American men's tennis may not yield a major yet, there's momentum building in that direction. Ben Shelton — who fell to Tiafoe in the third round — feels it's only a matter of time before one of his countrymen ends the 21-year drought. 

"I think that the gradual improvement of the ranking of American players over the last three, four years, is proof to where we're going," Shelton said, via Forbes. "I think it's inevitable that we will have a Grand Slam champion from our country. I don't know when it’s going to be or who it's going to be."

European men have dominated men's tennis across the last two decades, winning 77 of the last 78 grand slam titles. It was a different story through the 1980s and 1990s.