NEW YORK — It was only a few moments after his dominant second-round win that Ben Shelton was asked about his next opponent.
Covered in sweat and with a drenched towel draped over his shoulder on the blistering hot Wednesday afternoon, Shelton claimed he didn’t know he would be facing Frances Tiafoe in the third round of the US Open. Shelton said he doesn’t look at the draw in advance, but it didn’t take him long to warm up to the idea.
“You guys made this draw exciting early in the week, huh?,” he said with a grin to the delighted crowd on Grandstand. “I’m really looking forward to it. We had a battle in the quarters here last year. I’m sure it’ll be another popcorn-type match.”
On Friday, in front of a packed and likely raucous crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the two Americans will play with a spot in the fourth round on the line. It promises to be one of the most desirable tickets of the 2024 US Open and there is already a palpable buzz around the grounds. But while only one of the two can advance to the second week, their much-hyped match perhaps embodies the current state of American men’s tennis, and the enthusiasm around the top group of players.
While there’s been endless talk about the now-21-year major title drought for the U.S. men, there are currently five American men ranked in the top 20, including Shelton (No. 13) and Tiafoe (No. 20). The group has been collecting wins, generating viral moments and headlines — and seems closer to snapping the streak than they have in years.
And they believe one of them can win it.
“We’ve all been playing really well,” Tiafoe said on Wednesday. “There’s a window, there’s an opening in the game … I think this is definitely the one [Slam] that we can win. We just haven’t done it yet. We have five guys in top 20, all guys are dangerous, all guys are capable. It’s kind of a ‘Why not?’ thing.”
When Andy Roddick hoisted the trophy at the US Open in 2003, few could have predicted that decades would pass without another American man doing the same. Given the contenders over the years — including Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, who had both won recent titles at that point — it seemed all but certain Roddick and the new generation would take up the mantle.
Of course, few could have also predicted the rise and dominance of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic over the next two decades. It was not to be for the American men.
“If someone had told me that at the time, I would have said, ‘That’s f—ed up,'” Roddick’s coach Brad Gilbert, who had previously coached Agassi, told ESPN last year. “Up until that point, we just always expected that American men would be winning because we always had been.”
Sam Querrey reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2017 and John Isner did too at the tournament the following year. Tiafoe then thrilled the US Open crowd in 2022 with a dazzling run to the semifinals — including a fourth-round victory over Nadal — and Shelton reached the final four during last year’s tournament. Tommy Paul, currently ranked No. 14, made the 2023 Australian Open semis.
Taylor Fritz, currently the highest-ranked American man at No. 12, has reached four major quarterfinals, including at last year’s US Open and Wimbledon earlier this summer. Throughout the season, Fritz and Paul have each won two ATP titles, and Shelton has won one.
Entering the third round of the US Open, Tiafoe, Shelton, Fritz, Paul and No. 50 Brandon Nakashima all remain in the draw. (Sebastian Korda, the other countryman ranked inside the top 20, lost on Thursday in the second round.) Fritz said no one in the group talks about the fact that no American man has won a Slam in 21 years as it’s “pretty obvious,” but knows they all use it privately as motivation.
“We all want to be the one to end it,” Fritz said earlier this week.
On Friday, Fritz will play unseeded Francisco Comesana, and Nakashima — who upset No. 16 seed Holger Rune in the first round — will have to dig deep to find a way to defeat No, 18 seed and Olympic bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti. Paul will face Gabriel Diallo on Saturday.
Martin Blackman, the USTA’s general manager of player development, who has worked with many of the top Americans since their early teens, feels optimistic about the group’s collective chances at the US Open and beyond.
“I think American tennis, men and women, is in the best place it’s been since 1996,” Blackman said on Thursday. “We’ve spent 15 years trying to get here. I believe all five [of the top-ranked male players] can win a Slam. That may not happen, but I believe that all five of them are capable of it. They’ve all been willing to sacrifice and fully commit to this and they’re not just happy or content to reach the quarters or the Round of 16.”
The American women have fared significantly better during the last two decades, with Serena and Venus Williams capturing multiple Slam titles, as well as Sloane Stephens, Sofia Kenin and Coco Gauff each winning one.
Blackman believes it was the women’s success — specifically the 2017 US Open in which four American women reached the semifinals and Stephens won the title — that was the turning point for the current group of American men.
“That was kind of the beginning, and it was probably a nice wake up call for the guys,” Blackman said. “I think the attention and the visibility the women got for that amazing achievement sparked some urgency and was part of the equation to get to this point.”
During the 2023 meeting between Tiafoe and Shelton, the two friends battled for four sets in front of an enthralled crowd on Ashe. Tiafoe, the more established veteran, was the crowd and oddsmakers favorite, but Shelton, who was then just 20 and in his first full year on tour, won the fans over with his fearless play, relentless energy and powerful hitting. Shelton won, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-2.
The two met again in the Houston final in April, with Shelton winning in three sets. Both players know Friday’s third-round match could again go the distance — and either way — but seemed excited for the challenge.
“These are the type of matches that I love, that I live for,” Shelton told reporters on Wednesday. “Being able to do it a little bit earlier in this draw, it still feels the same [as last year].”
The winner on Friday will likely set up a clash against Djokovic, the 24-time major champion. Djokovic defeated Shelton in an entertaining match during the 2023 semifinals, which became immortalized when Djokovic used a “hanging up the phone” gesture to mock Shelton’s previous celebratory phone move. Djokovic, who recently won Olympic gold in Paris, remains a favorite for the title, along with 2022 champion Carlos Alcaraz, who won both the French Open and Wimbledon this year, and world No. 1 and Australian Open victor Jannik Sinner.
Of course, neither Shelton nor Tiafoe were thinking beyond Friday when speaking to the media on Wednesday. But Shelton knew no matter what happened in his third-round match, and throughout the tournament, it would likely only help move the country’s top contingent further forward.
“The quality of U.S. men’s tennis is 100% on the rise,” Shelton said. “Whenever [one American finds momentum], it kind of puts the other guys on alert and I think makes them play even better. Like when I had become the No. 1 American this year for four-and-a-half minutes, Taylor Fritz got hot. I’m not saying that’s because of me, but just a by-product, maybe coincidence. I think that the more that we continue to push each other, we’re moving in the right direction.
“Everybody wants that big next Grand Slam [title] or next big moment for an American star, but I think the gradual improvement and progression is what’s really going to put Americans more towards the top of the game.”