Can current US players snatch a slam?

DSH

Talk Tennis Guru
Yes. Fritz I can see winning a slam.
Nah!
World number 4 Fritz was beaten in the third round of the Australian Open by an opponent who was over 38 and very close to retirement.
The American does not have that extra something to be crowned champion of a GS tournament.
(n)
 

DSH

Talk Tennis Guru
Tiafoe is done, IMO. He's headed to Finland with Medvedev, Rublev, etc.

I think Shelton is the most likely to win one.
It would be the call to success for men's tennis in that country after so many droughts in the biggest tennis events.
:cool:
 

GloW

Professional
Do you think that current US players : Tien, Fritz, Shelton , Korda Snatch a slam?
I would bet my money either on Fritz, who is really good on HC and his run at USO few months ago was pretty impressive. Or Tien, I really like his Tennis IQ, the way he outmanouevred Medvedev in Australia was a sight to behold.
Korda is too inconsistent and Shelton?
He has serious weakness in the form of ROS
Tbh, all of them have exploitable weaknesses
Fritz- movement, has great groundies though, his BH is severely underrated imo.
Korda- inconsistency , mental fragility
Shelton- bad ROS and exploitable BH
Tien- great ROS, high tennis IQ, average serve.
If I had to Pick one , i would choose Fritz.
no
 

NYTennisfan

Hall of Fame
Let's be honest, it all depends on Sinner and Alcaraz, it those guys are injured or go into some weird mental slump like Novak did for a year or so, then yeah maybe Fritz or Paul could sneak one out. I don't seen any of them pulling a Madison Keys and beating the #1 and #2 players at a slam.
It's more Sinner than Alcaraz on Hard Courts. I hate to say it, as an Alcaraz fan, but he's pretty much a non-factor on Hard Courts now, he's had some regression in his Hard Court game.

I know Fritz lost early at the AO but he's a guy knocking on the door but as long as he runs into Sinner he's not winning a slam, he can beat everybody else as he's shown with Zverev multiple times.
It's really Sinner then everybody else at this point which, again, pains me to say as an Alcaraz fan. That's the immovable object on tour right now.

Anyway, there's very little to get excited about in American Men's Tennis. There's just nobody established or coming up that has special upside. Maybe a guy sneaks in a slam in the next 5-10 years but good luck picking who that guy might be.
 

Rovesciarete

Hall of Fame
Do you think that current US players : Tien, Fritz, Shelton , Korda Snatch a slam?
I would bet my money either on Fritz, who is really good on HC and his run at USO few months ago was pretty impressive. Or Tien, I really like his Tennis IQ, the way he outmanouevred Medvedev in Australia was a sight to behold.
Korda is too inconsistent and Shelton?
He has serious weakness in the form of ROS
Tbh, all of them have exploitable weaknesses
Fritz- movement, has great groundies though, his BH is severely underrated imo.
Korda- inconsistency , mental fragility
Shelton- bad ROS and exploitable BH
Tien- great ROS, high tennis IQ, average serve.
If I had to Pick one , i would choose Fritz.

Michelsen is a very long shot but has progressing well. Much will depend on serving as his height would suggest, improving the movement and upping the power of his forehand.
 

TheSlicer

Hall of Fame
i just watched the end of the second set from the munar shelton match, munar was playing great, but how the hell did he win so easily against shelton on a hard court? was there something wrong with ben?
 

Steeez

New User
The answer is probably no, but Fritz did make a USO Final so he has a chance. His problem is Sinner; Sinner would have to randomly lose or get injured earlier in the draw - Fritz cannot beat Sinner on any surface.

Otherwise I'd say Tommy Paul has a decent shot at AO/USO and particularly Wimbledon; grass suits his game and he matches up well with Alcaraz. But he needs to figure out how to play well in the big matches - he's very close but seems to find a way to choke. Hopefully he figures it out.

Michelson - maybe if he significantly improves his serve. Long way to go tho. Tien is too limited............no weapons, too small.

Tiafoe is toast, and I don't think Shelton or Korda can do it. So I'll give Fritz a 5% chance and Paul a 7% chance (he's a late bloomer)......
 

Rovesciarete

Hall of Fame
The answer is probably no, but Fritz did make a USO Final so he has a chance. His problem is Sinner; Sinner would have to randomly lose or get injured earlier in the draw - Fritz cannot beat Sinner on any surface.

Otherwise I'd say Tommy Paul has a decent shot at AO/USO and particularly Wimbledon; grass suits his game and he matches up well with Alcaraz. But he needs to figure out how to play well in the big matches - he's very close but seems to find a way to choke. Hopefully he figures it out.

Michelson - maybe if he significantly improves his serve. Long way to go tho. Tien is too limited............no weapons, too small.

Tiafoe is toast, and I don't think Shelton or Korda can do it. So I'll give Fritz a 5% chance and Paul a 7% chance (he's a late bloomer)......

Paul and Fritz look obviously most likely righty now as they are in their prime and doing well. More so Taylor than Tommy.

Shelton has his terrible return record but he doing much better at slams than best of three. 34.2% vs 31.6%, likely the biggest difference in the top 50. Preparation? Motivation? Adjustments?

With the latter he would have hardly a chance but if wins return points at the former clip…
 

Drob

Hall of Fame
Taylor Fritz in 2024 had hold + break sum of 108.5 . He is almost a slam contender with this number.



Fritz 108.5 - almost a contender
Paul 110.4 - contender


Rest of the American players are not close.
Shelton 103.8
Tiafoe 101.7
Korda 104.3

pardon. what are the numerics? thx
 

Drob

Hall of Fame
i look at surfaces. and v v difficult to guess beyond 12 months.

2025:

RG - none. no American male.

Wimbledon - Shelton & Paul might be top-eight "real seeds" - meaning 8 most likely to go DEEP

USO - Tiafoe & Fritz probably lower part of top eight "real seeds"


YEC - Fritz consistency gets him in and could poss SF or even F but not win tourney.

2026 AO - point construction paramount. Fritz on bland consistency? Paul if develops better strategic game? eeh. think not.

Like that Korda is top 100 in ATP rankings singles and doubles - one of only 5-6 players in both groups.
 

Robert F

Hall of Fame
Maybe....
Tien at this time is a definitive no. Needs to work on serve and lets see if his level of play can elevate more. He did great, but lets see if that sticks. I hope so.
Foe--love the energy this guy brings to court. But his waves of sucesss seem to be reaching lower and lower peaks. I fear he is on his way down.
Paul--For him to win a slam he'll have to have serious hard dogfights on the quarterfinals and on. He just doesn't seem to get a lot of free points. Seems he has to earn every point. And to survice 2 weeks without being exhausted, you need some big weapons to get you out of tought situations, and big weapons to win quicker in the early rounds.
Shelton--I think his lack of fear can help him the most if he just sharpens his weapons and works a little more on shot selection. If he does these things maybe in 2-4 years he could be real contender.
Fritz--in the hear and now, he probably has the best chance. It's just hard because the game to beat is his own game but by one guy who can do everything better--Sinner.

It's the closest the US has been in a long time. These guys are working hard. Let's hope.
 

nolefam_2024

Bionic Poster
i look at surfaces. and v v difficult to guess beyond 12 months.

2025:

RG - none. no American male.

Wimbledon - Shelton & Paul might be top-eight "real seeds" - meaning 8 most likely to go DEEP

USO - Tiafoe & Fritz probably lower part of top eight "real seeds"


YEC - Fritz consistency gets him in and could poss SF or even F but not win tourney.

2026 AO - point construction paramount. Fritz on bland consistency? Paul if develops better strategic game? eeh. think not.

Like that Korda is top 100 in ATP rankings singles and doubles - one of only 5-6 players in both groups.
Why would Fritz not be a contender for at least a quarter final at Wimbledon. I think he is best suited for grass than other surfaces.
 

Drob

Hall of Fame
Shelton--I think his lack of fear can help him the most if he just sharpens his weapons and works a little more on shot selection. If he does these things maybe in 2-4 years he could be real contender
Maybe Wimbledon real contender. Doubt point construction will ever be there - not what AO snd USO require. But Wimbledon is rather welcoming to the adventurous, risky player. And a "fast" YEC if Ben could reach the top eight . . . ?
 

Drob

Hall of Fame
Why would Fritz not be a contender for at least a quarter final at Wimbledon. I think he is best suited for grass than other surfaces.

Top 12 certainly for All-England - just out of my imperfect construct of "real" top-8 per Slam for Wimbledon. As said above, something about the grass is a lttle more forgiving to the pirate
 

nolefam_2024

Bionic Poster
Top 12 certainly for All-England - just out of my imperfect construct of "real" top-8 per Slam for Wimbledon. As said above, something about the grass is a lttle more forgiving to the pirate
It's actually the other way around. Fritz has already proven he is grass court player with 2 qf at Wimbledon with both being fifth set losses. Shelton however dangerous he might be has only done so on hard courts due to very weak draws.

I don't think Shelton is that much closer to real breaking through but Fritz has taken out zverev last year.
 
Top