With Roland Garros set to begin tomorrow, the hunt for an American men’s Grand Slam winner continues.
The last male player to hoist a major singles title is still Andy Roddick, who did so at the 2003 US Open.
Since then, several players have come close to ending the drought, but none have managed to get over the line.
Which American man has the best chance of winning a Grand Slam in 2026?
The US currently have four men’s players ranked inside the top 25, one of whom is Frances Tiafoe, placed 21st in the world at the moment.
Tiafoe enjoyed his best finish at Roland Garros last year by reaching the quarterfinals, and will hope to go a step further in 2026.
Frances Tiafoe talks about the American men’s Grand Slam drought
Addressing the drought in his pre-tournament press conference, Tiafoe said: “It’s been nice for a long time. I think we’ve been killing.
“It’s a matter of we just have some guys. It’s just top heavy, man. We’, you know, they’re gatekeeping hard.
“I mean, I think, you know, Fritz has been top ten for a bunch of years,
“Ben’s cracked in there. He’s kind of solidified himself being a top ten guy.
Is men’s tennis boring without Carlos Alcaraz?
“I mean, I’ve been top 20 majority of years the last four years. Tommy as well. He’s been flirting in and out, so.
“We got Korda, I mean, you know, if he’s healthy, you know, he’s always, again, top 20.
“But it’s his manner of just putting these weeks together, and trying to do the ultimate goal, and one of us try to win, and this type of event.
“You know, Ben won 1000, you know, Fritz won 1000, you know, I’ve been final of a 1,000, so we’re all flirting with the top of the game. We just got to kind of get over the line.”
How Americans got on at the Australian Open
The Australian Open saw a number of Americans make fairly deep runs, with four reaching the fourth round.
Tommy Paul, Learner Tien, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton all advanced to the round of 16, two of whom made the quarterfinals.
Tien and Shelton advanced to the last eight but fell to Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner, respectively.
While Shelton was beaten by Sinner in straight sets, Tien forced Zverev to a fifth set, and almost battled past the German.
At this year’s French Open, Shelton will enter as the highest seeded American player.
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