Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe were 5 years old. Ben Shelton was not quite 1.
The U.S. Open’s signature “Honey Deuce” cocktail was not yet born. Same goes for Facebook, YouTube, Reddit, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Coco Gauff.
When Open fans took the No. 7 train to the National Tennis Center, not then named for Billie Jean King, they looked out the window at Shea Stadium. Citi Field still was a parking lot.
So, yes, it’s been a while since Sept. 7, 2003, when Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open, the last American man to win in Flushing — or at any tennis grand slam.
It is a stark turn from the early years of the U.S. National Championships, when American men won 44 of the first 45 tournaments between 1881-1925.
It also is a far cry from the late 20th century, when the U.S. won more than half the time, 17 in all, from 1974 and 2003, behind John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
Roddick beat Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets in the ’03 final, then . . . nothing.
Ferrero now coaches 2022 U.S. Open champion Carlos Alcaraz, so he bears partial indirect responsibility for this drought. But mostly, it is an ongoing mystery in the tennis world.
We have plenty of people, plenty of money and plenty of athletes, even if other sports do siphon off potential standouts at an early age.
But the biggest change since 1881 is that the rest of the world has gotten more interested in and better at tennis, culminating in an era dominated by a Swiss (Roger Federer), a Spaniard (Rafael Nadal) and a Serb (Novak Djokovic) and now a Spaniard (Alcaraz) and an Italian (Jannik Sinner).
Last year nearly brought the long-awaited breakthrough.
Fritz and Tiafoe both reached the semifinals, where they faced one another, with Fritz winning in five sets to become the first American in a grand slam final since Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009. Then Fritz lost the final in straight sets to Sinner.
This year’s event has not gone as well for the American men. Friday was a debacle.
No. 6 seed Shelton retired because of a shoulder injury while tied with Adrian Mannarino at two sets apiece. Tiafoe, seeded 17th, lost in three sets to Jan-Lennard Struff, a qualifier.
On Saturday, No. 14 seed Tommy Paul lost in five sets to No. 23 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan.
That left Fritz, seeded fourth, who on Sunday faced No. 21 seed Tomas Machac in a fourth-round match. He advanced easily, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, needing only 1:38 and facing not a single break point.
He next will face the winner of Sunday’s late Djokovic-Struff match in the quarterfinals. Fritz is 0-10 in his career against Djokovic.
When asked in an on-court interview about being the last American left, Fritz said, “It’s been a tough week for the guys. I guess I wasn’t expecting everything that happened. I felt really, really good about our chances this week.
“But I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to be the last one standing, at least, and hopefully since I‘m the last one the crowd will really get behind me and will me through it.”
The Shelton injury was a disappointment not only for him but for those who consider him the best American hope over the next few years, not only because of his game but because of his marketable personality. He even has a famous girlfriend in U.S. Women’s National Team soccer player Trinity Rodman.
Shelton was in tears when he left Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday. His next shot at a grand slam will come early next year in Australia.
Stories and questions about the drought have become tiresome to players. But they know they will continue until there is a reason for them to stop.
Before the tournament, Tiafoe said, “It builds in added pressure and added excitement, as well. You’re, like, wow, a lot of different guys can do that, and especially the American guys.
“It’s, like, four or five guys that could do it. It’s like, are you going to be the guy. Or be the guy that watches that guy do it? It’s fun. Fun to be a part of.”
Shelton said before the tournament, “I think that it’s a matter of time for us. I think that the media will keep probably asking questions and debating until that happens. I can’t wait for that to happen. Then we can kind of move on to a different question.”
Not yet.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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