Can anyone emulate Andy Roddick by winning the US Open at Flushing Meadows?
Friday 25 August 2017 14:37, UK
Flushing Meadows has been waiting to see a home-grown men's singles US Open champion since Andy Roddick in 2003 but, with an improving set of American contenders, could 2017 see a new star from the United States emerge?
The 14 years since Roddick knocked off Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets is the longest drought in the Open era that New York has witnessed without a native men's champion.
However, with Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic not in attendance and Roger Federer and Andy Murray struggling with injury, there are a number of serious contenders with a chance of filling the void.
World No 14 John Isner is the highest-ranked player representing the United States in the draw and on form represents their best shot at victory.
The 32-year-old has had a confidence-building US Open series, winning his fourth Atlanta Open title without dropping a set and beating compatriot Ryan Harrison in the final.
Isner then succumbed to defeat in the first round of the Montreal Masters to former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro but he showed no signs of frailty as he followed up with a run to the semi-finals in Cincinnati.
Isner should see positives from losing through two tie-breaks to eventual champion Grigor Dimitrov as he was knocked out without dropping a single service game in the tournament. A slight change in fortune during the breakers and it could have been Isner lifting the title rather than Dimitrov.
If he can maintain such impeccable form for two weeks at Flushing Meadows, then Isner might just emulate Roddick and Pete Sampras's big-serving heroics that took the latter to five titles in the Big Apple.
World No 17 Jack Sock is the next great hope Stateside and the 24-year-old has the firepower to hurt top-ranked opponents, as he proved with a career-best Masters run to the semi-finals of Indian Wells this year. Wins over top-10 players in Dimitrov and Kei Nishikori before being beaten by Roger Federer show his potential to go deep.
If Sock were to lift the title, it would go down in history as one of the greatest underdog stories Flushing Meadows has ever seen, bettering - by some margin - Sampras's maiden major victory when he was just 19-years-old in 1990.
Sam Querrey's run at Wimbledon this summer can't be ignored, as he became the first American to make a Grand Slam semi-final since Roddick in 2009.
The world No 21 also has two hard-court titles at the Mexican Open in Acapulco and the Los Cabos Open to his name this season, the former coming with a win over Rafael Nadal.
Querrey's five-set win over Andy Murray at Wimbledon was unprecedented, even with the former world No 1 suffering from a hip injury. If he can produce the same level of mental toughness with the home crowd firing him up, then a career-best trip to a major final could well be in the making.
America has a plethora of talented young players that in the future could be serious contenders.
Francis Tiafoe pulled off the win of his young career by beating world No 6 and fellow NextGen star Alexander Zverev in Cincinnati, just after the German lifted the title in Montreal, the 19-year-old dishing up revenge for Zverev dumping him out of Wimbledon and the Australian Open this season. A fourth encounter between the pair at Flushing Meadows would be a mouth-watering prospect.
Jared Donaldson is another player to keep an eye on. The 20-year-old sits third in the race to the NextGen finals and made the third round in New York last year, with a special win over 12th-seed David Goffin, and at Wimbledon this summer.
Tommy Paul is the hottest prospect of the wild-cards. He reached the quarter-finals in Washington and in Atlanta, and he most recently beat compatriot Donald Young to advance to the second round in Cincinnati.
Sky Sports Tennis will have all the action from the US Open covered via our website www.skysports.com/tennis with our live blogs and updates throughout the fortnight as the Grand Slam year reaches its climax.
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