Fritz, Gauff, Paul, Pegula Help Lead U.S. Charge

Wasn’t it just yesterday that Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul were fighting it out for Future-of-American-Tennis supremacy, a pair of uber-talented teens vying for the trophy in the 2015 Roland Garros and US Open boys’ singles finals?

“It’s kind of weird not being the youngest guys anymore,” said Fritz, now 23, suddenly a seasoned tour veteran.

Fritz, Paul, Reilly Opelka and Frances Tiafoe were the latest heirs apparent, carrying the same red, white and blue burden as their countrymen before them. Roddick/Blake/Fish/Ginepri were supposed to make us forget about Sampras/Agassi/Courier/Chang, who in turn were supposed to make us forget about Connors/McEnroe, and so on.

All along, they’ve fielded the same questions about the state of American tennis, ad nauseum; those incessant queries coming from a success-starved nation that’s been waiting for an American man to raise a major trophy since Roddick’s breakthrough at the US Open nearly two decades ago.

You can almost hear their collective sigh of relief with the emergence of #NextGeners like Sebastian Korda (21), Jenson Brooksby (20) and Brandon Nakashima (20). Finally, someone to help lighten the load.

“They’re all really good players, very tough,” said the 39^th-ranked Fritz, who’s through to the third round of the BNP Paribas Open for a third time. “We’re going to be playing them for a long time.”

Fritz would split those decisions with Paul back in 2015, but has come a long way since. In 2019, the same year he captured his first ATP title at Eastbourne and notched five Top-10 upsets, Fritz became the youngest American man in the Top 25 since Roddick in 2004. Earlier this year, he became the No. 1 American. (He’s since been surpassed by Opelka).

“I’m definitely a lot more professional. For better or worse, I expect a lot more of myself. I’m tougher on myself,” reflected Fritz, after setting his next matchup with fifth seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy. “I feel like I’ve improved just about every part of my game. I just need to keep working, but I feel so much more confident about my return of serve, my movement, my fitness, my backhand.”

Fritz, who grew up just down the road in Rancho Santa Fe, is all but playing in his home tournament. He’ll carry some confidence into Tuesday’s match with the Wimbledon finalist Berrettini, whom he defeated in Davis Cup action in 2019.

“He’s got a huge serve and a huge forehand,” Fritz observed. “He sticks to his game well. He knows how to win. I think his game matches up pretty good with mine. I like the matchup for myself. It’s going to be a lot of big serving. I’ll just have to focus on taking care of my serve.”

There were 20 American men in the singles draw when play got underway in Indian Wells last week, the third most in the history of the tournament. By Monday, we were down to four: Fritz, Opelka, Paul, and Tiafoe.

American women haven’t had to wait as long for big-trophy results. But with both Serena and Venus Williams winding their careers down, the spotlight is now on players like 2020 Australian Open champ Sofia Kenin, 2021 Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady, 17-year-old Coco Gauff, etc. The No. 15-seeded Gauff, 19^th seed Jessica Pegula, 22^nd seed Danielle Collins, Shelby Rogers and Amanda Anisimova are still standing at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

“I came here feeling pretty confident,” said Pegula, who is set to be married on Oct. 22. “I just want to compete really well and kind of go day by day. Really just not give in, just fight, really tough it out. It’s really a good ending to a year, so I’m just trying to have fun with it.”

“I’m confident I can go deep at these tournaments. Hopefully, I can continue to go deeper consistently,” she added. “I think it’s just more of a belief in myself that, ‘Okay, now I’m seeded, now I feel good about my first couple rounds.’ I feel like I should be there, I should be winning. I think it’s just a little bit more self-belief out there.”

Making her main-draw debut in the desert, Gauff is hoping the continue a trend that has seen young players use the WTA 1000 event as a springboard to Grand Slam glory. Japan’s Naomi Osaka broke through here in 2018, and has since won four major singles titles. Most recently, Canada’s Bianca Andreescu took the trophy in 2019, claiming the US Open crown that same year.

“I’m super motivated,” said the 19^th-ranked Gauff, who overcame Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-1, en route to the third round. “If anything, I think you’re more motivated toward the end of the year because you know that you only have so many tournaments to prove yourself. I hope that I can go all the way to the final.”