NEW YORK — They were 10 words, 10 simple and factual and essentially harmless words.
“It’s 20 years since Andy Roddick won the singles here …”
Yet as soon as that phrase hung in the air at Frances Tiafoe’s news conference ahead of the U.S. Open, and before the question could be completed, the 25-year-old from Maryland rolled his eyes.
And then, in case that wasn’t enough to convey how he felt, Tiafoe rolled his whole head, too, and shook it. Then he broke into that wide smile he so often displays and chuckled a bit before pointing out: “I knew that was what you’re going to say.”
Once the query was resumed, it became about Roddick’s legacy as the last man from the United States to win a major singles title, taking a roundabout approach to a topic Tiafoe is so used to hearing about. The U.S. Open begins Monday with a first-round schedule that includes Tiafoe, a surprise semifinalist in 2022, taking on Learner Tien, a 17-year-old from California who will appear in just his second match on the ATP Tour.
And that record-long gap for U.S. men’s tennis is, without a doubt, one of the top storylines as the year’s final Grand Slam gets started.
“I don’t really have a memory of Roddick winning, but I definitely remember which year he won, because I’m asked about it in every interview,” Tiafoe told The Associated Press recently. “I was close to changing that narrative last year. So we’ll see. I think it’s definitely coming for us — and I hope it does pretty soon.”
After a long period of not being all that relevant in the game — due in part, at least, to the dominance of Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, Switzerland’s Roger Federer and Spain’s Rafael Nadal — the nation that produced Bill Tilden, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Andre Agassi and others over the decades is starting to matter again.
Tiafoe knocked out 22-time major champion Nadal in the fourth round a year ago in New York before losing to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz, a young Spaniard who won his first Grand Slam (and has since added a second with his Wimbledon triumph over Djokovic last month). Tommy Paul made it two major semifinal appearances in a row for the U.S. men by getting there at the Australian Open in January before bowing out against eventual champion Djokovic (who won the French Open in June for his 23rd major title, breaking his tie with Nadal for the record in men’s singles and putting a little more distance between himself and former record-holder Federer’s 20.)
What would it mean if No. 10 Tiafoe, No. 14 Paul or any of the five total seeded Americans in the men’s bracket, the most since 2004 — No. 9 Taylor Fritz, No. 28 Chris Eubanks and No. 31 Sebastian Korda complete the group — were to have that sort of breakthrough?
“It would change the whole scope of it. Now we’ve got a new guy to look at. The drought is over. It would be a huge day in America. People would be super excited. It would be sweet. You’re in that realm with those guys, legends like Johnny Mac, Jim Courier. All those guys. Agassi. Sampras,” Tiafoe told the AP. “It would be a huge day, and hopefully all those guys would be there. It would change the whole narrative, for sure.”
U.S. women don’t have to go back nearly as far to find a champ, of course.
Serena Williams won 17 of her 23 Slam trophies in singles after Roddick’s triumph; Venus Williams won three of her seven in that span. There also are two more recent successes: Sloane Stephens at the 2017 U.S. Open and Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open.
Plus, an American woman made it to a major final just last year: Coco Gauff was the French Open runner-up against Iga Swiatek. No American man has gotten that far in a Grand Slam singles bracket since Roddick lost to Federer in the title match at Wimbledon in 2009.
Did that weigh on those who have played in the time since?
“Maybe a little bit. It has been a long time. It’s the longest stretch this country’s ever had, for sure,” said John Isner — a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2018 and for many years the top American on the ATP Tour — who has announced that he will retire after this U.S. Open.
“We’ll see. I think American men’s tennis is in a very good spot right now,” Isner added. “I mean, who knows? Like, that could keep going, because the No. 1 player (Alcaraz) is pretty good and very young.”
AP photo by Kathy Willens / Andy Roddick kisses his trophy after winning the U.S. Open on Sept. 7, 2003. Roddick remains the last American man to win a Grand Slam singles title.About that No. 1
Alcaraz wishes he could go a little more unnoticed as he tries to move around the home of the U.S. Open.
That’s not possible, of course. New York is the last place to find quiet when you’re the star of the show, and even at just 20 years old, it appears he is already that in tennis.
The reigning champion may not be listed as the oddsmakers’ favorite to win it all — FanDuel Sportbook has Djokovic in that spot — but Alcaraz certainly seems to be a popular choice among fans.
They will have to wait a little longer to watch him. Alcaraz isn’t on the schedule Monday for the first day of play, when reigning women’s singles champion Iga Swiatek plays in the afternoon as a No. 1 seed and both Djokovic and Gauff play at night.
Alcaraz is set to face Dominik Koepfer on Tuesday night, providing an extra day to set aside the distractions and hype that were already starting even before he won the title last year and have snowballed since.
“Well, my life changed a lot, a lot,” Alcaraz said this week with a smile. “Probably it’s a different life, talking about the way that I’m more, let’s say, famous. A lot of people are starting to know my name after the U.S. Open last year, for example.”
The victory over Casper Ruud made Alcaraz the first teenager to win the U.S. Open men’s title since Sampras in 1990. Sampras, though, didn’t immediately shoot to stardom, not with Connors and McEnroe still around and Agassi having already burst onto the scene.
But with Federer retired and Nadal sidelined since January because of injuries, Alcaraz has quickly picked up many of their fans along with his own, a fact he quickly discovered when he returned to New York and noticed how many people recognized him when he went to restaurants or golf courses.
“Sometimes I like it; sometimes no,” Alcaraz said. “Sometimes you want to feel like a normal guy, to walk normally. … Yeah, I wish some days to be someone not recognized at all. But it’s going to be impossible. I have to enjoy that part as well. But sometimes it makes difficult.”
It’s not likely to get any easier any time soon. He leads the ATP Tour this season with 53 wins and six tournament titles, and it’s not only his success but the way he plays, with huge forehand whacks and a deft touch on drop shots, that pleases the crowds so much.
“This guy is amazing. Electric,” said McEnroe, now an ESPN analyst, who also called Alcaraz “the most complete 20-year-old I’ve ever seen, and that includes Novak and Roger and Rafa.”