Tennis-U.S men ready to end years of frustration with All-American semi-final battle

By Amy Tennery

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Whether Taylor Fritz or Frances Tiafoe win Friday's semi-final clash at the U.S. Open, the match will give the host nation plenty to shout about as one of them will get a shot at finally ending the United States' 21-year men's Grand Slam drought.

The American women have carried the torch for their sport for years, as younger stars such as Coco Gauff emerged just as Serena Williams was wrapping up her career with 23 major wins.

But no American man has won a slam since Andy Roddick triumphed at Flushing Meadows 21 years ago. It is a barren run that grows ever more frustrating for U.S. fans who had become accustomed to decades of American success, with the likes of Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi collecting 41 slams between them from the 1970s to the early 2000s.

But with Tiafoe and Fritz playing each other on Friday, a U.S. man is guaranteed to contest a major final for the first time since Roddick lost to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon showpiece in 2009.

"It's a validation of the strategy over the last 15 years," said Martin Blackman, who took the reins as general manager of USTA Player Development in 2015.

The USTA announced a massive overhaul of its player development programme in 2008, beginning with juniors, and the strong performances show the investment was well worth it, said Blackman.

"There's so much work that's gone into it from the ground up," said Blackman. "Trying to change the culture, trying to create more developmental opportunities for all these juniors."

Coming up as juniors, USTA camps were a common ground for Tiafoe and Fritz, good friends on the tour who are chasing the pinnacle of their sport.

Fritz is the son of former top-10 player Kathy May, who reached the U.S. Open quarter-finals in 1978, while Tiafoe's background is already a source of inspiration among tennis fans.

His father worked as an on-site caretaker at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in Maryland after fleeing the civil war in Sierra Leone, and Tiafoe has said that his story shows "anybody can do it."

Other top Americans, like 14th seed Tommy Paul and Reilly Opelka, who reached the fourth round here in 2021, also came up through the USTA camps, Blackman said.

"I think that's why their camaraderie is so tight," he said. "These players want to beat each other, they want to be the best American, but they really like each other. And if one of them loses, then they're pulling for the other one and that's a beautiful thing."

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Pritha Sarkar)