Open final, which takes place Sunday in New York City, the optimism about American men’s tennis is clocking in at a level unseen since Andy Roddick won the tournament in 2003. Ben Shelton, the big-serving southpaw who grew up in Gainesville, Florida, and won national team and singles championships at the University of Florida in 2021 and 2022, respectively, will face the event’s top seed—and the world’s No. 2-ranked player—Alexander Zverev of Germany. Sure, topping Zverev—the reigning French Open champion and Wimbledon runner-up—is no simple task for Shelton, who’s trying to become the first American man to claim any Grand Slam tournament title since Roddick.
The German is 5-0 all-time against Shelton, who has taken a lone set against Zverev on tour. But let’s face it: The three American men who have reached a U.S. Open final since Roddick’s seminal victory had little chance of success against far superior opponents.
Andre Agassi’s nostalgic run to the 2005 final, in his second-to-last U.S. Open, ran into a Roger Federer rally: Federer, 20-time Grand Slam singles champ and recent inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, bested Agassi to win the second of his five straight U.S. Roddick returned to the final in 2006.
Like Agassi the year before, he managed to take a set off Federer before succumbing to his rival’s inevitable triumph. Two years ago, Taylor Fritz won his semifinal over fellow American Frances Tiafoe to reach the final against Jannik Sinner, who was on the cusp of winning his second major championship and cementing his status, along with Carlos Alcaraz, as the alpha dogs of their game. Sinner beat Fritz in straight sets in 2024—and has since won three more Grand Slam championships.
I was there the night Fritz reached that final. And truth be told, until Friday, I pretty much forgot about it. Win or lose on Sunday, Shelton’s performance at this year’s tournament will be remembered.
After all, he already outlasted Alcaraz, the defending U.S. Open champion and a seven-time Slam victor, in a five-set quarterfinal epic that ended at 3:33 a.m. Wednesday—the latest finish in tournament history.
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