Wimbledon is here, but it serves as a reminder of the state of men’s tennis in the United States.
Not since 2003 has a U.S. player on the men’s side won a Grand Slam title. Call it a grand slump.
American Andy Roddick became the pride of the country when he took the U.S. Open that year as a 21-year-old. And granted, part of this stretch of futility included an unassailable run from Roger Federer that featured five consecutive Wimbledon titles—two of those coming against Roddick.
Overall, however, the men’s side has hit an extended lull. Back then, Venus and Serena Williams took the lead in the race for trophies on the women’s side, and the future seemed as bright as the sparkle on the freshly watered Wimbledon grass for U.S. players.
But moving through the start of play at Wimbledon this week, the U.S. men are longshots to win the title, at best. And this is a place where American men have not done well since Pete Sampras finished off a title streak of four consecutive years in 2000.
According to the world rankings, the top U.S. contender is Taylor Fritz. He just became the first three-time men’s champion in the history the Eastbourne International on Saturday, when he completed a perfect run to the title by taking down Australian qualifier Max Purcell 6–4, 6–3 in the final.
It was the eighth career title for Fritz, who sliced up the competition without dropping a set in the grass-court Wimbledon warm-up.
“I don’t know what it is, something about this place—first title, third title, now eighth—so something about it, I really love it,” Fritz said in the on-court interview after his Eastbourne triumph.
“The crowd support every year, it’s so great to see all the love. I just love being in Eastbourne and having this week before Wimbledon,” said Fritz, who was later quoted as saying, “This has been the best I have been serving on grass.”
The task now for the world No. 12, a 26-year-old from Rancho Santa Fe, California, is to make that success translate to the grass at Wimbledon. He’s off on the right foot, marching past Christopher O'Connell of Australia with a 6–1, 6–2, 6–4 victory in the first round.
Meanwhile, world No. 13 Tommy Paul is coming off a title at a warm-up event. Paul took out Lorenzo Musetti to win the final at the grass-court Queen’s Club 6–1, 7–6 (8) on June 23 for his third career ATP title.
Paul, a 27-year-old from Voorhees, New Jersey, joined a distinct group of American Queen’s champions. He was the first U.S. player since Sam Querrey in 2010 to win the event and the championship placed his name alongside past victors John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, and Sampras.
Paul made it to the semifinals at the 2023 Australian Open, but Novak Djokovic knocked him out to advance and eventually win the championship.
An intriguing player might be Ben Shelton, the No. 14 seed at Wimbledon. A 21-year-old southpaw from Atlanta, he struggled in the first round before getting past Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci 4–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4.
Shelton, whose father Bryan Shelton reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 1994, is making his second appearance at the tournament. In fact, this is just his eighth time playing a Slam event.
But the relatively inexperienced Shelton would need to have an unexpected elevation in his level of play to make his way into Week 2 at Wimbledon and ultimately break through the virtual barrier for U.S. men.
World No. 29 Frances Tiafoe should at least be considered someone who can reach the second week and make some noise if Djokovic and other past Wimbledon champions become ripe for the picking.
Tiafoe, while athletic and at times dynamic, has not been able to consistently pick the corners and hit his spots in the moments that matter in Slam action.
At 26, he still has time to adapt his game to improve his results on grass to get over the hump, but the native of Hyattsville, Maryland, has not finished off his runs at big tournaments.
And finally, world No. 21 Sebastian Korda, a 23-year-old from Bradenton, Flordia, advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2021 and made it past the fourth round at a major event or the first time in his career at last year’s Australian Open.
World No. 58 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard knocked the American off in a 7–6 (5), 6–7 (4), 7–6 (6), 6–7 (4), 6–3 first-round marathon, putting yet another dent in U.S. hopes.
A few lesser-known Americans could always create a viral-video-worthy moment during a run to the second week, but it’ll likely take something just short of a miracle to end this grand slump this month in England.
