The 2024 US Open is looking much different than most of the recent Grand Slams, and Frances Tiafoe is loving every minute of it. No American man has won a major title in 21 years, but Tiafoe thinks this tournament is a sign things could be changing soon.
“This is the group,” he said after advancing to the semifinals. “We openly speak about it. I think we’ve all been knocking on doors.”
This is Tiafoe’s second US Open semifinal in three years. He is taking on Taylor Fritz on Friday, which will mark the first time two Americans meet in a major semifinal since Robby Ginepri and Andre Agassi at the 2005 US Open.
Fritz had never gotten past a quarterfinal before, but he entered this tournament as the top-seeded American at No. 12. Meanwhile, Tiafoe entered as No. 20 and had a lot of momentum after reaching his first ATP Masters 1000 final in Cincinnati a month prior.
They are the only ones left standing, but there were other American men who looked capable of also making a deep run. No. 13 Ben Shelton gave Tiafoe an intense five-set battle in the third round, while No. 14 Tommy Paul forced two tiebreaks against No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the round of 16.
No matter the result of Friday’s match, either Tiafoe or Fritz will become the first American man to reach a major final since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009.
“Taylor’s been in and out of the top 10, top 15. Myself, I was top 10 at this time last year,” Tiafoe said. “And Tommy’s knocking on the door, quarters playing great. Ben’s zoned in. It’s only a matter of time. You put yourself in positions, it’s only a matter of time. The game is open. It’s not like it once was where you make quarterfinals, you play Rafa [Nadal], and you’re looking at flights.”
Tiafoe is not wrong. This calendar year will be the first time since 2002 that none of the Big 3 of tennis — Rafael Nadal, Rodger Federer and Novak Djokovic — win a Grand Slam. Djokovic, who won the gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics, was upset by Alexei Popyrin in the third round.
While making it this far is obviously a huge accomplishment, winning the whole thing continues to be the boogeyman on the court. No American man has won a Grand Slam title since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open. The former world No. 1 himself will be cheering on whoever makes it to the title match.
“I would love nothing more than for an American to win on Sunday,” he said during the Served with Andy Roddick podcast. “That would just fill my cup up. It’s not unburdening me. I hate it.
“I get this anxious feeling every time they have to answer for it. I f—ing hate it for them. I want them to have it. I want them in the clear. And frankly speaking, if one of them breaks this thing, they could all start contending regularly. Like, the dam breaks and then it goes. They don’t have to play against ghosts. I hope it happens, we’ll see.”
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