(September 1, 2023) FLUSHING, NY – Twenty years after the last US man won a major, Andy Roddick, four young American men advanced to the round of 16 at the US Open of Friday – No. 9 Taylor Fritz, No. 10 Frances Tiafoe, No. 14 Tommy Paul and unseeded Ben Shelton. All of them are in the same half of the draw.
World No.14, Tommy Paul held off Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the 21st seed. 6-1, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 in Arthur Ashe Stadium to start the day.
“To start the match, I was pretty nervous,” Paul admitted. “This is my first time on Ashe. You could probably see it a little bit in the beginning of the first service game.
“Then it was, like, a pretty big hold there. So it felt nice to get out of that game and everything started rolling.
“I think he was feeling the nerves a little bit. I think it was his first time on Ashe also. It’s definitely not a normal place to play tennis. It’s really cool. Walking out there, it wasn’t even like a packed stadium or anything when we first started, but you definitely feel it. I mean, I started getting things rolling, and I don’t know, everything was going really well. It was going really fast.
“Then after the second, you kind of knew that he was going to come back out and play some really good tennis, pick up his level, and he did. Gave him a couple looks there in the third and he took it. I had to stick with him there in the fourth and played a pretty good set.”
Paul will be playing fellow American Ben Shelton next.
On the Grandstand, Ben Shelton overpowered Aslan Karatsev of Russia 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.
“Should be a fun match,” Paul said I” think everyone is excited about both of us right now. I’m excited for that matchup.”
“So it’s exciting for me right now. I’m really looking forward to the next match, and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Paul added “I think our games are, like, pretty different. Like, overall we have very different games. He’s a serve-and-first-ball guy. He does it really well. He volleys pretty well. I’d say that’s probably our similarity that we like to find the net.
“But for me, I’m gonna try and make it a little bit longer than serve and first ball. That’s my whole goal in the match.
“You know, he brings a lot of energy. I kind of like to keep it mellow. We’re not, like, too similar on the court. Should be a pretty fun matchup.”
“I’m really happy to be into the next round obviously,” said Shelton. “Ecstatic. Glad that I had a chance to be in a position similar to this earlier in the year. So I feel kind of prepared what’s to come mentally and physically, being able to play on a big stage at a Grand Slam against the exact same guy I’m going to be playing next round. Feel fortunate I got that experience.”
On playing Paul at this same stage at the Australian Open, “I think he’s a guy who has every shot in the book, a great athlete, great mover, amazing defensive skills, but can also play offense.
“I think that he’s a really savvy tennis player. He uses his brain a lot on court to beat his opponent. I think I have some of the similar qualities. A little bit more of a bigger ball hitter or server. He places the serve, spins it more. Still has a great serve, hits a lot of aces.
“I think the way we go about things is a little bit different.”
Shelton lost that match in Australia and hope to learn from kit and reverse the outcome.
“I think that was a match where I was a little unsure of what to expect. I hadn’t really been in that situation before, quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, on Rod Laver, packed stadium.
“I think I panicked a little bit, pressed early in the match, and he kind of got on top of me and was the frontrunner from there.
“I hope to do a little bit better job of that this time around.”
In Louis Armstrong Stadium, No. 10 seed Frances Tiafoe defeated 22nd seed Adrian Mannarino to reach the fourth round.
With four American men in the fourth round, Tiafoe was asked about how much they build on each other’s successes:
“I mean, tremendous, tremendous,” said the 24-year-old Tiafoe. “We’re going to continue to do so. Again, this is a group that had a lot of ability. Always had a lot of talent. Guys were doing really well in their age groups growing up. We competed against each other in big matches, juniors, futures, challengers. Now we’re at the top of the game.”.
“You see guys do certain things, it makes you believe it, right? The guys you grew up with, rubbed shoulders with and stuff, you see them do well, you’re like, Wow, if this guy is doing it, what’s wrong with me? Why can’t I do it? It’s kind of a domino effect after that.
“You look at a guy, Tommy Paul, took him a while to get going. He believes more than anybody right now. Taylor obviously has been playing well for a while. Myself. Then that creates a lot of other people. Ben, he’s had an up-and-down year, but now he’s playing great tennis. He’s putting it together here.
“It’s good to see. It’s good to see a lot of players playing well. Hopefully we just keep doing it. Just got to stay in the moment.”
“I want nothing but the best for those guys. I want them to win, and hope we can play against each other in big matches. That’s what it’s all about. Let the better man win.
“I’m not one of those guys envious of anybody. You want those guys to do well. It’s only going to help me, right? So, yeah, I mean, everyone’s super excited for each other. Everyone’s pumped up. I mean, it’s great for American tennis ultimately at the end. It is what it is.”
Tiafoe will be taking on Australian Open Wild Card Rinky Hijikata who beat Zhizhen Zhang of China 6-3, 6-3. 4-6, 6-3.
No. 1 American Taylor Fritz played the night session in Louis Armstrong Stadium, dismantling qualifier Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-0, 6-2.
“I felt good. I kind of had a clear plan of what I wanted to do, how I wanted to play him,” Fritz said. “I returned well. I was moving really well. Yep, I just played a solid match.”
“I’m playing pretty well all around,” he said. “I feel like I have, in general, a pretty all-around game. I think just the next step to, like, really — if we’re going to talk about going extremely deep, winning the tournament, I think the serve needs to be clicking a little more than it is. I think I’m getting away with winning a lot of baseline points and winning a lot of points on my second serve because just from the ground I’ve been, one, playing well, and just been a bit better from the ground than people I’ve played, I feel like.
“But I think when I start to play people that are very good from the ground, I am going to need to get more free points on my serve and rely more on my serve. I think that’s the next step, to up that percentage and serve a little bit better if I want to take out the top guys.”
How does he feel about all of these American men advancing on Friday:
“It feels really good, if I’m being honest. I expected it. I expected Frances and Tommy to move forward. Yes, even yesterday before everyone played today, I looked at the draw. This side of the draw is crazy. I looked at it for the first time, the whole thing. I was like, Wow, one of these guys, on their side, is for sure making it to the semifinals. Not to put pressure on them, but…
“That’s just what I thought personally. I was like, Wow, I wonder who it’s going to be, but one of them is going to be in the semis, I’d say.
“Yeah, we’re all talking and seeing each other in the locker rooms and stuff. It’s cool. We’re going to hopefully keep it going.”
“I probably shouldn’t say that I’m friendly with (them)” he added. “The other American guys, those are, like, my closest friends.
“When any of us see the others having good results, it’s motivating. I think they’d all say the same thing. But it’s motivating. Because if one of us does something, the others not only want to do it, too, they now believe that they can also do it because we think we’re as good as each other. If he did this here, then why can’t I?
“I think it’s kind of this progression that we’ve had for a while now, why we’re at where we’re at. Someone achieves something big, then someone else comes and wants to match him or one-up him, and it’s the cycle that keeps going.
“We’re all such good friends, it’s motivating, for sure.”
More to follow…
