Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul are working together to try and give American tennis fans hope once again.
For the first time since 2000, there will be two American men in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon with both bidding for glory.
Back then it was Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi trying to win the title and this year it will be Fritz and Paul.
Fritz came through in five sets yesterday to beat number four seed Alexander Zverev, whilst Paul earned his place with a win over Roberto Bautista Agut.
With both players preparing for big matches at Wimbledon, Fritz explained yesterday what he’d previously told Paul at this year’s event.
Taylor Fritz shares what he told Tommy Paul behind the scenes at Wimbledon
It’s fair to say that the two players are flying the flag for men’s tennis in America right now and it’s exciting to see what they could achieve.
Okay, Sampras and Agassi are unlikely to see their records eclipsed any time soon but the future is looking brighter with the current crop.
Speaking after his match with Zverev yesterday, Fritz was quizzed on his relationship with Paul.
He said in his press conference: “We have a lot of interaction, it’s tough not to! Tommy is one of my closest friends if not my best friend so we talk all the time and see each other in the locker room.
“It’s funny, one thing I told him, is that I played on Court Two and he played his match around the same time, and the way the sun was coming down in the first set.
“Usually you get the glare to your left side, but this one is pretty straight on.
“So I was telling him at one time in my match I was the most blind I have ever been on a tennis court and he thought I was exaggerating and he played at the same time and he said he got broken and whiffed a ball in that game.
“And he told me today ‘Dude you weren’t lying’ I was like ‘I know, you literally couldn’t see anything’ so that was kind of a funny thing we talked about in the previous match.”
Fritz can buck the trend for American tennis
You have to go all the way back to 2003 when America last had a male winner at a Grand Slam, with Andy Roddick winning the US Open.
It’s been a barren spell ever since and the game has been in a transitional period for far too long in the United States.
Fritz – and Paul to a certain extent – will both feel that they can buck the trend and start winning titles.
There is just something about Fritz that perhaps gives him the edge and his huge serve could help him become a major champion in the years to come.
It might not be this year that one of the duo wins Wimbledon but both players seem to like playing on grass and perhaps Fritz can be the one to win the tournament in years to come.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
