With Taylor Fritz's four-set victory over Alexander Zverev and Frances Tiafoe's quarterfinal win after Grigor Dimitrov was forced to retire due to injury on Tuesday, the stage is set for an all-American U.S. Open semifinal, ensuring an American man will reach the final at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2006.
It's a historic moment for American tennis, one that's not lost on Tiafoe, who was asked if he takes any satisfaction being part of the group of US players set for the monumental achievement.
"Yeah I mean Taylor [Fritz], Tommy [Paul], Reilly [Opelka], we've spoken about it for years," Tiafoe said. "This is the group. This is the group. We openly speak about it. I think we've all been knocking on doors. Taylor's been in and out of the top 10, top 15. Myself, I was top 10 at this time last year."
"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."
Tiafoe then acknowledged how the landscape of tennis has changed with 20-time major champion Roger Federer retired, 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal seemingly nearing the end of his career and 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic enduring one of the worst years of his career on the tour.
"The game is open," Tiafoe said. "It's not like it once was where you make the quarterfinal and play Rafa and you're looking at flights. I mean that's the reality. Now it's totally different. No one's unbeatable. Especially later in the season, guys are maybe a little bit cooked, just not as fresh, they're vulnerable."
"It's pretty exciting. First time since '09, hopefully it's me."
Over the course of the last 22 years, the likes of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, nicknamed the "Big 3", won an astonishing 66 of 86 majors. Even after Federer's retirement, and as Nadal has battled injuries, Djokovic, who won three of the four majors in 2023, and prodigy Carlos Alcaraz, who won the French Open and Wimbledon this year, have continued the dominance. That had left little leeway for the American men.
But with both Djokovic and Alcaraz eliminated early on, the tournament is seemingly wide open, with all due respect to one-time major champions Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev. And now, there's a very real chance a US man can lift the US Open trophy—or any major trophy for that matter—for the first time since 2003.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Frances Tiafoe Gave Hilariously Honest Quote on How Tennis Has Changed.
