NEW YORK—Novak Djokovic gets why male tennis players from the United States are expected to win Grand Slam titles today, the way they did when Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors were around. And he gets — that’s not to say he agrees with — why anything less is…
meets unseeded Ben Shelton in the other matchup on the bottom half of the bracket.
“It’s a really cool opportunity for American tennis. This is what you guys always talk to us about: ‘Who’s going to be the next Grand Slam champion? Who’s going to do it?’” Shelton said at a news conference after eliminating yet another American, Tommy Paul. The country’s women have enjoyed far more success over the past two decades, thanks largely to the Williams sisters, but there also were recent major trophies earned by Sloane Stephens and Sofia Kenin. Two US women reached the quarterfinals this time: Coco Gauff, a finalist at the 2022 French Open, and Madison Keys, who made it that far at the 2017 US Open.