When the tournament began, I wrote that the US Open final would be a showdown between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. As it turned out, I was completely wrong.
Now that this opening has become legitimate open Alcaraz was eliminated in the second round, and Djokovic was eliminated the previous day in the third round. The tournament was energized by the semifinal advances of Taylor Fritz and Francis Tiafoe on the men's side and Emma Navarro and Jessica Pegula on the women's side.
And after two decades of tennis dominated by the benevolent, yet simultaneously dictatorial, Big Three of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Djokovic, this is something of a respite.
The Big Three won 29 of the 30 Grand Slam tournaments, from the French Open in 2005 to Wimbledon in 2012. The trio won 15 straight titles between 2006 and 2009 and 14 straight titles between 2017 and 2020. They were the Yankees, the Canadiens and the Celtics.
It is noteworthy that in the five years from 2015 to 2019, no men's player won their first Grand Slam title.
Popyrin at the start of this year's US Open. Jason Senes/New York Post
Now, like any historic dynasty, their time is over. Well, at least for the past two weeks. Because anyone who writes off Djokovic would be foolish. The 37-year-old Serb failed to win a Grand Slam title this year for the first time since 2017 and just the second time since 2010, but he did reach the Wimbledon final and won a gold medal on clay at the Summer Olympics.
Still, there are new dynamics at work. Sure, he'll be playing Jannik Sinner, the 23-year-old top-ranked, No. 1 seed. But he's not Federer or Nadal or Djokovic. He's not the dark cloud that hangs over this bracket. He doesn't harbor the same kind of spectre.
“If you hold your position well, it's just a matter of time, and the matches are open,” Tiafoe said after beating Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. “It's not like it used to be, where you get to the quarterfinals and you play Rafa and you're waiting for your plane ticket.”
Sure, Tiafoe beat Nadal in a fourth-round upset at the British Open two years ago, after Nadal reached the semifinals before losing a classic five-set match to Alcaraz, but you get the point: Tiafoe has had one step forward and one step back in recent years, just as Fritz has had one step forward and one step back in recent years.
Until now.
The 21-year hiatus between men's Grand Slam titles is a source of embarrassment for the USTA, which once produced a string of champions, with Pete Sampras (12), Andre Agassi (7) and Jim Courier (3) winning a combined 22 majors between 1992 and 2001. Andy Roddick won the British Open in 2003 and reached three Grand Slam finals in the next three years, losing to Federer at Queens in 2006. No American man has reached a Grand Slam final since.
But there will be an American in Sunday's final. Friday night's highly anticipated semifinal matchup between Fritz and Tiafoe makes that certain. Both appeared to have been overtaken twice in the USTA rankings by a young Ben Shelton, but that didn't turn out to be the case. Fritz, who turns 27 at the end of next month, and Tiafoe, who turns 27 in January, have made the hard-earned comeback on their own schedules, independent of anyone else's.
Navarro, the 13th seed, had her dreams of reaching the US Open final dashed when she lost 6-3, 7-6 (2) to second-seeded Sabalenka in the first semifinal on Thursday. But Pegula overcame an early break in the second set to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 after losing 6-1 in the first set to Karolina Muchova in the second semifinal, reaching the 30-year-old Buffalo native's first Grand Slam final.
Pegula is looking to become just the third American in eight years to win the tournament, following Sloane Stephens, who won in 2017 ahead of Coco Gauff's triumph last year. There has been no notable difference on that side since Serena Williams' era of dominance ended with her last British Open title in 2014.
So what adds spice to the tournament is the rise of American men's players. Long ago, that was taken for granted. John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors met in the Open semifinals four times in a five-year span from 1978 to 1982. From 1977 to 2005, at least two Americans reached the men's semifinals 21 times. Those were great times.
I think it's possible this tournament will just be an oasis. There are probably miles of dry land ahead for the Americans, but nobody should bet on it. Tiafoe is in his second semifinal in the last three years and deserves the big stage. Fritz has overcome his mentality. Shelton is knocking on the door. Tommy Paul has the talent to perform in the big games. Other players are making moves.
But there is no time to waste.
Now is the time.
This is the place.
Queens, New York.
united states of america.
