US Open 2024: Investment, lots of investment and an obsession called Andy Roddick | Tennis | Sports

The obsession translates into numbers, dates, and millions. And behind it there is a name: Andy Roddick. It has been 5,544 days since an American tennis player, the one already mentioned, last played in the men’s final of a major tournament; even more, 6,569, have passed since the same protagonist reached the final in New York, beaten then (2006) by the Swiss Roger Federer, also the executioner at Wimbledon 2009. And we have to rewind even further, 7,668 days, to find the already old success of 2003, when the Nebraskan prevailed over the Valencian Juan Carlos Ferrero in the outcome of Flushing Meadows. A long time, without a doubt. Too long. Hence the current excitement, the excitement at seeing that, at last, the United States will have an ace in the hole in this edition’s final, Taylor Fritz or Frances Tiafoe, superior in the quarterfinals to Alexander Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov, respectively, and now called up to the semifinals.

Today, Roddick is an American television commentator, very active on social media and the author of a weekly podcast very entertaining (Served with AndyServed with Andy) followed by many professionals on the circuit or former tennis players such as David Ferrer, for example. But Roddick is, above all, the great desire of a generation that promised a lot but that has systematically eluded glory. “In the locker room we don’t talk about it (the triumph of 2003), but we all want to be the one to put an end to that streak,” says Fritz, aware that he and Tiafoe have right now on their backs a nation that is tearing its hair out because despite the investment, which has been multimillion for two decades, they have not found the key to success in the men’s field; yes in the women’s, where since that same date, in that interval of 21 years, the Williams sisters, Sloane Stephens, Sophia Kenin and Coco Gauff have triumphed.

The powerful US federation (USTA) is trying to recover those brilliant times when Connors, McEnroe, Courier, Agassi, Sampras and Roddick himself shone, but it has not managed to find the key. Everything has so far been in the form of attempts and what was presumed to be a successful generation has so far been a disappointment. None of them has made the leap. The closest, precisely, has been Tiafoe himself, obstructed by the barrier of the semi-finals two years ago, also in New York. Good form and a reinforced middle class, but none of them has become a figure capable of taking up the baton and reflecting the commitment of a tennis superpower that has always been at the forefront internationally and has dominated both the Davis Cup – 32 titles, four more than Australia – and the old Federation, now the Billie Jean King Cup (18, seven more than the Czech Republic).

According to the current world ranking, the North American country has managed to build a solid structure of middle-aged players with a presence in the elite zone of the circuit. Specifically, five of them are among the 20 strongest – Fritz (12th), Ben Shelton (13th), Tommy Paul (14th), Sebastian Korda (16th) and Tiafoe (20th). However, not only have they not made a mark on the majorsbut they have not managed to do so in second-rate landscapes like the Masters 1000; the Indian Wells trophy won by Fritz in 2021 is the only significant notch. There is no lack of volume – eight representatives in the top-50 and nine in the top-100for example, two and six in Spain—but they do have real muscle. Although the level of some of them is high, they have lacked power and Shelton’s project (21 years old) offers the most exciting, but contained perspective; the youngster is, today, in a world of already proven phenomena such as Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz.

National plan

“The quality of our tennis has increased by 100 percent,” said Shelton, a player who hits serves at 240 km/h and comes from an American football background. “We’ve had a lot of guys up there who are now finding their best form. When I became number one in our country, I lasted four and a half minutes in that position because Fritz got hot… I think the more we push each other, the more we’ll go in the right direction. Everybody wants us to win that Grand Slam or be the next big thing, but I think gradual, progressive improvement is what’s going to put us Americans on top,” said the gunner, who was beaten by Tiafoe in the third round.

“It is only a matter of time,” says the latter, convinced that the program designed by the tennis establishment of his country (USTA) will take effect sooner or later. To this end, the leaders have built a solid base articulated around the ambitious university program and the strengthening of the academies. A national issue, even; of health. The expansive plan (35 by ’35) has increased the number of people playing tennis, according to the USTA, by 33% over the past four years. The aim is to train up to 80,000 high-level coaches and install 350,000 regulation courts globally. The ultimate goal, the organization stresses, is that by 2035 35 million potential players will have picked up a racket, which would represent 10% of the country’s total population. All and more to find another icon and end the male drought, as well as trying to produce more Serenas. The United States, a historic factory of champions.

The 2003 inscription is now a long way off, as is the reference of July 5, 2009, when Roddick was defeated by Federer in five sets on grass. The American, a textbook server with a bazooka for an arm, managed to reach the top (13 weeks) and appear as the next big project, but he would finally be devoured by the heavenly emergence of the Swiss, superior to him in four major finals; three at Wimbledon (2004, 2005 and that one 15 years ago) and another in New York (2006). From then on, nothing. Attempts and more attempts, fruitless for now.

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