U.S. Open door is wide open, and an American man must walk through it and win the title
American men's tennis has run out of excuses.
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner withdrew from the U.S. Open prior to the tournament with a knee injury. Then, Novak Djokovic lost in the first round.
Finally, in a stunning upset, Ben Shelton sent defending champion Carlos Alcaraz home after a five-set battle that ended at 3:33 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Now Shelton and Frances Tiafoe will meet in the semifinals on Friday, which guarantees that an American man will play for the U.S. Open championship on Sunday afternoon in Flushing.
That's nice, but it isn't enough. One of them needs to hoist the trophy.
Andy Roddick remains the last American man to win a Grand Slam singles title. He did it at the U.S. Open in 2003, which means the drought is well into its third decade.
We've spent more than 20 years searching for the next guy. There have been promising teenagers, big servers, top-10 players and a lot of perfectly respectable runs to the second week of major tournaments. But this is America, and we don't do "respectable." We do dominant.
Taylor Fritz reached the U.S. Open final in 2024. Tiafoe made the semifinals in 2022. Shelton got there in 2023. Those are all good runs. But American men have been living off close calls for long enough, and it's time to finish the job. There's arguably never been a better opening for it to happen.
The two best men's tennis players in the world aren't standing in the way. Sinner, the No. 1 player in the world and reigning Wimbledon champion, withdrew before the tournament with a right knee injury.
Alcaraz, the reigning Australian Open and U.S. Open champ, made it to New York after missing the past two majors with a wrist injury, but Shelton beat him. Djokovic's 39-year-old body betrayed him in a stunning first-round loss to Mariano Navone.
Alexander Zverev is still alive, and he finally got over the Grand Slam hump at the French Open earlier this year, in part due to Alcaraz's absence. He's a serious threat, but he's not at the level of either Sinner or Alcaraz, the two players who had combined to win nine straight major titles before Zverev broke through in Paris.
The remaining field has good players. It doesn't have an unbeatable one, and sometimes in tennis that's all you can ask for.
Shelton certainly didn't get a free pass into the semifinals. Alcaraz entered their quarterfinal with a 13-0 record against American men in Grand Slam matches.
Shelton dropped the first set in a tiebreak, then ripped through the next two to take control of the match. Alcaraz answered with a dominant fourth set, and more than four hours after they started, it came down to a deciding tiebreak.
LADIES AT THE US OPEN WERE CAUGHT ON CAMERA TAKING NOTICE OF A SHIRTLESS CARLOS ALCARAZ
Despite facing the most pressure-packed moments of his career, Shelton came through to beat the 23-year-old Spaniard. Shelton has had plenty of near misses, which made this victory feel like a breakthrough.
The power has never been in doubt. His serve is a weapon, his athleticism jumps off the screen and he feeds off an enthusiastic crowd better than almost anyone on tour.
But could he beat one of the sport's giants when the match was on the line and the lights shone their brightest? Finally, that answer is a resounding yes.
Tiafoe had to answer a different question. He fell behind fellow American Alex Michelsen by two sets and a break in their quarterfinal and was staring at a quiet exit after squandering a golden opportunity.
Things looked especially bleak because Michelsen hadn't dropped a single set in the tournament up to that point.
Tiafoe could have folded, especially after all the years of people waiting for him to turn his talent into a major title. Instead, he fought his way back and won in a fifth-set tiebreak.
Tiafoe is 28. He's not old, but he's not the young prospect with unlimited time anymore. This is his third trip to a major semifinal, all at the U.S. Open. At some point, the breakthrough has to become more than making it to Friday night.
And Tiafoe knows it.
"We're going to enjoy this, but we got to keep going," he said after beating Michelsen.
Shelton is 23 and probably has more opportunities ahead of him. But ask Dan Marino how many more Super Bowl appearances he thought he'd have after he made his first one at 23. The answer was zero.
There will be plenty of talk about how great Friday's semifinal is for American tennis, and it is. Arthur Ashe Stadium will be packed and fired up to watch two American stars with big personalities, huge games and a real chance to end a 23-year major-title drought.
But the celebration can't peak in the semifinal.
We already know an American can reach the final. Fritz did it two years ago, then Sinner beat him in straight sets. Getting another man to the last Sunday would show consistency. Winning could change the sport in this country.
That may sound dramatic, but look around. American women's tennis has continued producing major champions. Coco Gauff, Madison Keys and Sofia Kenin have all won Grand Slam singles titles in this decade. The men keep giving fans encouraging signs and asking them to wait a little longer.
We can't wait much longer.
Whoever wins between Shelton and Tiafoe will have the New York crowd, a winnable final and the opportunity American men's tennis has spent 23 years trying to create. Sinner, Alcaraz and Djokovic are already gone. The last obstacle will be one very good player on one Sunday afternoon.
Many people probably want to already label this tournament as a success because an American man is guaranteed to at least make the final. I'm not one of them. At this point, it's victory or failure.
The door is open and it's time to finally walk through it.