With Taylor Fritz’s four-set victory over Alexander Zverev and Frances Tiafoe’s quarterfinal victory after Grigor Dimitrov retired through injury on Tuesday, the stage is set for an all-American US Open semifinal, ensuring that an American will reach the final at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2006.
It is a historic moment for American tennis, and Tiafoe is aware that he has been asked if he feels any satisfaction in being part of the group of U.S. players who will achieve this monumental achievement.
“Yeah, I mean Taylor (Fritz), Tommy (Paul), Reilly (Opelka), we’ve talked about it for years,” Tiafoe said. “That’s the group. That’s the group. We talk about it openly. I think we’ve all been knocking on doors. Taylor has been in the top 10, not in the top 15. I myself was in the top 10 this time last year.”
“And Tommy is knocking on the door, the quarter-finals are playing great. Ben is focused… It’s just a matter of time. You put yourself in positions, it’s just a matter of time.”
Tiafoe then acknowledged how the tennis landscape has changed: 20-time major champion Roger Federer has retired, 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal appears to be nearing the end of his career, and 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic is enduring one of the worst years of his career on the tour.
“The game is open,” Tiafoe said. “It’s not like it used to be when you got to the quarterfinals, played against Rafa and looked at flights. I mean, that’s the reality. Now it’s totally different. Nobody is unbeatable. Especially later in the season, the guys might be a little bit worn out, just not as fresh anymore, they’re vulnerable.”
“It’s pretty exciting. First time since 2009. Hopefully it’s me.”
Over the past 22 years, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, the “Big 3,” won an astonishing 66 of 86 majors. Even after Federer retired and while Nadal struggled with injuries, Djokovic, who won three of the four majors in 2023, and prodigy Carlos Alcaraz, who won the French Open and Wimbledon this year, continued their dominance, leaving the American men little room to maneuver.
But with both Djokovic and Alcaraz eliminated early, the tournament seems wide open, with all due respect to former major winners Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev. And now there’s a very real chance that an American could lift the US Open trophy – or any major trophy for that matter – for the first time since 2003.
