Wimbledon 2023: Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Sebastian Korda, Ben Shelton tipped to lead American charge
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Published 29/06/2023 at 13:02 GMT
The days of Pete Sampras and Andy Roddick are long gone, but can Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Sebastian Korda enjoy success for the USA at Wimbledon this summer? Fritz is the highest-ranked American man and reached the quarter-finals at the Grand Slam last year. Tiafoe enters the tournament on the back of winning in Stuttgart, while Korda and Ben Shelton have been tipped to impress.
Voice Notes: Jabeur agrees to mixed doubles with 'my bro' Tiafoe at US Open
American success was once commonplace at Wimbledon.
Pete Sampras won at the All England Club seven times – a record until Roger Federer won his eighth title in 2017 – and Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick made five finals between them. Further back there was Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, who played each other in two finals and won a combined five titles.
But it’s been 23 years since the Wimbledon men’s singles trophy was lifted by an American, and 14 years since an American made the final.
That is the longest run without an American in the final since the tournament resumed in 1919 following the First World War.
Could the streak end this year?
Eurosport expert Laura Robson will be keeping a close eye on the American men, of which there are plenty.
“I feel like they just love the surface…I'd be interested to see how a couple of them creep through the draw and if things open up for them,” said Robson.
Top of the billing is Frances Tiafoe.
A newly-minted top-10 player following his first grass title in Stuttgart - which he had amusingly predicted earlier this year – Tiafoe looks to be playing with more confidence following his Grand Slam breakthrough at last year’s US Open, where he played entertaining tennis to take out Rafael Nadal and Andrey Rublev before losing to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets in the semis.
He made the fourth round at Wimbledon a year ago, losing to David Goffin after leading by two sets to one.
He said his Stuttgart title showed he is a "complete player" who when "locked in can compete on all three surfaces". If he's locked in at Wimbledon he should be a danger in the draw.
Sebastian Korda looked set for a big season when he reached the Australian Open quarters in January, taking out former runner-up Daniil Medvedev and 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz along the way.
A wrist injury prevented him kicking on further but he used that time to work on “building a body that will handle major tennis and big-time tennis” along with fitness trainer Jez Green, who used to be part of Andy Murray’s team.
Korda was impressive at Queen’s when he reached the semi-finals – after which he somewhat surprisingly declared himself one of the favourites at Wimbledon.
While he has since backtracked on that comment, it was revealing to hear him talk about his belief in his playing style on grass.
"I'm very confident in myself on a grass court. I move really well, I definitely have a game that not very many people have. I'm an aggressive player, like to come to the net, I have good hands.”
World No. 9 Taylor Fritz is the highest-ranked American man but has not had the success on grass this summer that might have been expected after making the Wimbledon quarters last year.
In Stuttgart he was the second seed and lost in straight sets in his second match to Marton Fucsovics, and his title defence in Eastbourne was ended at the first hurdle by fellow American Mackenzie McDonald. Fritz’s power game is well-suited to grass, and when it comes to serving stats he is among the best on tour this season.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2023/06/28/3734265-75975228-2560-1440.jpg)
Will Taylor Fritz make another deep run at Wimbledon?
Image credit: Getty Images
Ben Shelton is another exciting talent who is playing his first summer on grass.
The 20-year-old with the big lefty serve hasn’t won back-to-back matches on the ATP Tour since his run to the Australian Open quarter-finals in January. However, he has been tipped as a Wimbledon “dark horse” by Tiafoe, while Andy Murray has also backed him to impress on grass.
"I think his game will be very well suited to grass with the way he plays, his serve and everything, he's very athletic, likes to come forward so I think he'll do well," said the two-time Wimbledon winner.
On his first Wimbledon appearance, Shelton might be a player that others are looking to avoid.
There are also other American hopes with Tommy Paul in the top 20 and JJ Wolf, Brandon Nakashima and Maxime Cressy in the top 60.
Paul lost to Cameron Norrie in the fourth round on his Wimbledon debut last year and spoke about how grass might have gone from his “worst surface” to his “best surface”.
Paul will be aiming for a strong run after reaching the Australian Open semis in January. Nakashima also made the fourth round at the All England Club a year ago and Cressy has a serve-volley game that can still be successful on grass.
While results among the American men haven’t been fantastic over the last fortnight, aside from Tiafoe’s title run, Wimbledon is a fresh slate, and a chance to follow in the footsteps of Sampras, Agassi and Roddick.
- - -
Stream the 2023 tennis season live and on-demand on discovery+ and eurosport.co.uk
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement