From Roddick to Fritz’s near miss: 22 years without an American men’s US Open champion

Taylor Fritz lost in the US Open quarterfinals. Up to now, Roddick is the last American male player to claim the championship in New York in 2003.

Fritz was defeated by Djokovic in this year’s US Open, ending his bid for the title. Meanwhile, American players continue to await a champion at this hardcourt major.

Andy Roddick remains the last American man to win at Flushing Meadows, the venue of the US Open. The former ATP world No.1 secured the title in 2003 by defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets.

From the 2000s with Agassi and Roddick to recent strong performances by Fritz, Tiafoe, and Ben Shelton, the US Open title has remained elusive. Agassi and Roddick reached finals again in 2005 and 2006 but both lost to the same player—Federer, who dominated the US Open from 2004 to 2008 for five consecutive years.

During the two-decade reign of the Big Three—Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic—the US Open has been relatively open. Champions included Murray (2012), Wawrinka (2016), Cilic (2014), and Del Potro (2009). Since 2020, only Djokovic among the Big Three has won the US Open, claiming the 2023 title.

The closest an American has come during this period was Fritz reaching last year’s US Open final, where he was defeated by Sinner.

Below are the best results achieved by American men at the US Open each year since Roddick’s 2003 victory.

Currently, men’s tennis appears to have entered a new era dominated by Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who have won the last seven Grand Slam titles between them. At 38, does Djokovic still have the ability to mount one final challenge against these young stars born after 2000?

In summary, American players like Fritz, Shelton, and Tiafoe currently lack the capacity to challenge the Sinner-Alcaraz duo, leaving American hopes for a US Open champion still out of sight.

Hope now rests on the younger generation born after 2005. So far, there are no standout American players among this new wave.

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