Three American men have advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, marking a significant moment in the nation's bid to end a 23-year drought without a Grand Slam men's singles champion. Frances Tiafoe and Alex Michelsen will compete against each other for a spot in the semifinals, while Ben Shelton has also secured his place in the final eight.
The last time an American man won a Grand Slam title was Andy Roddick at the U.S. Open in 2003. In the decades since, opportunities to break this streak have been infrequent.
Americans in contention
Frances Tiafoe, the No. 11 seed, defeated Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 champion, with a score of 7-6 (1), 6-4, 7-6 (6). He will face Alex Michelsen in the next round. Michelsen, a 22-year-old from California, has been a standout performer in the tournament, being the only man to have not yet dropped a set. He advanced by defeating No. 27 Tomas Etcheverry 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-4.
"We've been working really hard to get to this point and I'm really happy but not super surprised because of all the work I put in my whole life," Michelsen stated after reaching his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
The winner of the Tiafoe-Michelsen match will face either the No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz or the No. 8 seed Ben Shelton. Shelton advanced by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, marking his best performance of the tournament.
Sunday featured U.S. players in all four men's matches, with American players winning three of them. Carlos Alcaraz was the only player from outside the U.S. to defeat a host country player, beating No. 20 seed Tommy Paul.
Another American, No. 14 seed Learner Tien, has a chance to reach the quarterfinals when he faces Karen Khachanov on Monday.
Historical context
The U.S. Open in 2022 saw the closest the nation came to ending the drought, when Taylor Fritz defeated Frances Tiafoe in the first all-American Grand Slam semifinal since 2005. Fritz became the first American man to reach a major final since Roddick in 2009, but ultimately lost to Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
In 1995, the U.S. Open had eight men in the round of 16, with three reaching the semifinals. Pete Sampras defeated Jim Courier in one semifinal before beating Andre Agassi in the final.
While multiple American men were expected to contend for titles during that era, some players have expressed weariness with the recurring discussion of the drought. Meanwhile, American women like Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula have achieved significant success, with Gauff winning multiple trophies and Pegula reaching world No. 3.
"There have been a really consistent chunk of players, Jess, Coco, you know, have been at the top and inside the top five for the last I don´t know how many years," said Taylor Townsend. "Ben, Frances, Tommy, Taylor, it's just such a great group of men as well."