There is one undeniable similarity between American soccer and tennis: women continue to thrive while men struggle to catch up. Twenty-three years ago, in 2003, American tennis player Andy Roddick lifted the US Open trophy. Since then, tennis enthusiasts have been hoping for a breakthrough. The current crop, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, and Tommy Paul, has generated the most anticipation, with individual finalists and semifinal runs signalling real progress. But there’s the ‘Big 2’ threat looming.
Enter Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, two players not just at the top of the game but setting a new standard. Sinner, now a four-time Grand Slam winner, and Alcaraz, with five majors at just 22, seem to relish Flushing Meadows’ grandest stage, showing maturity beyond their years. Just last year, the two together dominated all the Grand Slams. However, U.S. men’s tennis isn’t in the doldrums it once was.
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The 2024 US Open saw Taylor Fritz break a fifteen-year final drought. However, Sinner proved too much for Fritz and took the trophy in straight sets. Let’s not forget that Grand Slam glory, especially on home soil, requires a level of consistency and nerve under pressure that Sinner and Alcaraz have mastered—while the Americans, as yet, have only flirted with it.
Both Sinner and Alcaraz have been consistently outstanding on hard courts. While Sinner has won three of the last four major titles on the surface, Alcaraz captured his first US Open title as a teenager in 2022. The secret lies in tactics: Alcaraz’s explosive speed and Sinner’s long reach. This enables them to track down nearly every ball. This ultimately makes it incredibly difficult for opponents to gain an advantage in long rallies or exploit open spaces on the court.
Both are considered among the best current ball-strikers, able to generate extreme pace and create sharp angles under pressure. Many compare Sinner’s returns to those of Djokovic. Whereas Alcaraz’s ferocious forehands and frequent net approaches keep even the best defenders scrambling.
Moreover, Sinner and Alcaraz have showcased the ability to recover from deficits and perform in clutch moments. Often makes epic comebacks in Grand Slam finals or tight matches. Their mutual rivalry, with an H2H record of 9-5 in Alcaraz’s favour, elevates their level week after week. This makes them push each other to sustain “ridiculous” consistency and confidence in the grandest stages, often leaving peers, especially those from the US, “so-close-yet-so-far” at majors.
Patrick McEnroe’s 2025 US Open prediction involves an American.
In Flushing Meadows this year, Fritz is the lone American standing tall, reaching the R16 yesterday. Each of Paul, Shelton, and Tiafoe couldn’t make it beyond the third round. This suggests two things. One, that Fritz could repeat his last year’s run and reach consecutive finals. Or two, he could actually win it, per Patrick McEnroe’s prediction.
“I’m going to say there’s going to be an American man winning this year’s US Open, and you can all try to figure out which one that is, because I’m not going to tell you,” McEnroe said, as quoted by Forbes.
Contrary to Americans, Sinner and Alcaraz’s 2025 US Open performances are defined by poise and resolve. In his third round yesterday, Sinner rebounded from a rare stumble to conquer Denis Shapovalov in 4 sets. Whereas Alcaraz, in his untroubled early rounds, has dispatched opponents with efficiency and a blend of baseline artistry and strategic brilliance. The same match saw him take a medical timeout for his knee. However, that hasn’t slowed him even a bit.
So, will Sinner and Alcaraz keep America waiting? If momentum and pedigree are any guides, the answer is, almost certainly, yes. The Americans are closer than they’ve been in a generation, but “close” won’t do. All Fritz needs to do to finally make history is to stop being so predictable and start focusing on playing his own power tennis.
