When Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003, his then-coach Brad Gilbert figured it would be the first of many.
And why not?
When Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003, his then-coach Brad Gilbert figured it would be the first of many.
And why not?
Roddick was just 21 at the time. By the end of 2003, he was ranked No. 1 in the world, the first American to finish a year at No. 1 since Andre Agassi in 1999. He also became the youngest American to hold the No. 1 rank since computer rankings were started in 1973.
Roddick had a tremendous career, reaching four more Grand Slam finals, but he never won another major title. He lost four Slam finals to Roger Federer.
It has now been 20 years and 78 majors since an American man has won a Grand Slam title. During that time, four American women — Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens and Sofia Kenin — have won majors. Serena and Venus have combined to win 30 major singles titles in their careers.
« If someone had told me that at the time, I would have said, ‘That’s f—-ed up,' » Gilbert, who also coached Agassi and now coaches Coco Gauff, said earlier this month, per ESPN. « Up until that point, we just always expected that American men would be winning because we always had been. »
Between them, Pete Sampras (14), Andre Agassi (8), Jim Courier (4) and Michael Chang (1) won 27 majors during their heyday in the 1990s and early 2000s. A generation before them, Jimmy Connors (8) and John McEnroe (7) won a combined 15 while helping to usher in the tennis boom of the 1970s and ‘80s.
Now a new generation of American men is breaking through and hoping to be the first to win a major since Roddick.
For the first time since 2005, three American men — No. 9 Taylor Fritz, No. 10 Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton, the 2022 NCAA singles champion from Florida — are into the U.S. Open quarterfinals. In 2005, it was Agassi, James Blake and Robby Ginepri.
