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PARIS — It’s been 30 years since three American males reached Week 2 on the French Open. Back then, it was Andre Agassi, Michael Chang and Jim Courier — every of whom received the event in some unspecified time in the future.
This go-round, the trio is Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe, all scheduled to be on courtroom Sunday in fourth-round motion at Roland-Garros.
“Yeah, about time,” joked Jessica Pegula, who superior Saturday to offer the U.S. not less than three ladies within the spherical of 16. “It’s exciting to see. Obviously you want to see your fellow countrymen do well on the other side, and I’m always actually keeping up with them quite a lot. So I hope they keep it going.”
Who do the American males left within the French Open play on Sunday?
Won’t be straightforward, after all, maybe particularly for the Thirteenth-seeded Shelton, the big-serving lefty who goes up in opposition to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain for a berth within the quarterfinals. No. 12 Paul takes on No. 25 Alexei Popyrin of Australia; No. 15 Tiafoe meets unseeded Daniel Altmaier of Germany.
Not since Courier and Pete Sampras in 1996 have a number of Americans made it to the quarterfinals in Paris.
Historically, the slower purple clay used on the French Open has not been significantly form to males from the United States. Some of that’s merely that they have a tendency to develop up enjoying totally on laborious courts, which reward a big-strike type of hard-hitting tennis, and so they aren’t as accustomed to the persistence and footwork required on the purple dust.
“I really do think everyone can play on this surface,” stated Paul, an Australian Open semifinalist two years in the past. “I remind myself it’s just tennis.”
But for years, Paul stated, he was not excited to take part within the French Open. And that’s coming from somebody who received the occasion’s junior title as a teen in 2015.
“Now I come over here and I look at it as an opportunity,” stated Paul, 28, who grew up in North Carolina. “I think all the Americans do.”
Andre Agassi in 1999 was the final US man to win the Roland-Garros title
Agassi, in 1999, was the final American man to win the trophy on the French Open — and the nation hasn’t had a male finalist since then. Before that, it was Courier in 1991 and 1992. Before that, it was Chang in 1989. And earlier than that, you must go all the best way again to Tony Trabert in 1954 and 1955.
American ladies have had far more success: 15 singles titles within the Open period, together with seven for Chris Evert and three for Serena Williams, plus 13 runner-up showings, most not too long ago by Coco Gauff in 2022.
“It’s super critical not to worry about what was and just worry about what is,” stated Tiafoe, a 27-year-old from Maryland who twice made the semifinals on the hard-court U.S. Open however started his Roland-Garros profession by going 0-6. “Currently we’re at the French Open, and just try to be elite. This is where it counts. So guys just believe it.”
Unlike in New York, the place Tiafoe is the focus and a fan favourite, a scene he loves — “There is so much anticipation; there’s so much energy” — Paris, he stated, presents “a different vibe” and “more of a low-key kind of thing.”
So far, so good.
Ben Shelton tries to cease the defending champion in Paris
There wasn’t prone to be something low key about Shelton vs. Alcaraz in the primary stadium, Court Philippe-Chatrier. They are among the many flashiest, most entertaining athletes in males’s tennis in the meanwhile.
Alcaraz is seeded No. 2. At 22, the identical age as Shelton — who received an NCAA title for the University of Florida — Alcaraz already owns 4 Grand Slam titles, with not less than one every on the clay on the French Open, the grass at Wimbledon and the laborious courts on the U.S. Open.
“That’s a pretty cool opportunity, pretty cool experience, that not a lot of people get or see in their lifetime,” stated Shelton, a semifinalist on the U.S. Open in 2023 and the Australian Open in January however 2-2 at Roland-Garros earlier than this 12 months. “For me, I’m definitely going to enjoy it and go out there and see what I can do, because I’m starting to gain some speed, gain a little bit of traction, on this surface and starting to see some of my best tennis. I like to think of myself as dangerous whenever I get to that place.”
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