On Wednesday, John Isner announced that he’d be retiring at the US Open’s end. On Thursday, the American men again demonstrated that the present—and future—of U.S. men’s tennis is in demonstrably good hands.
Five American men are seeded in this year’s draw: Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Chris Eubanks and Sebastian Korda. That is the most of any nation—no other country has more than three seeded men—and the most for the U.S. contingent since 2004, when Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, Taylor Dent, Vince Spadea and Mardy Fish all earned their spots among the top 32.
Coincidentally, all five Americans are located in the bottom half of this year’s draw, making the chances for some U.S. versus U.S. matchups a high probability as the tournament marches on.
It has been a steady progression for the U.S. men, who registered four seeds in 2022 (Fritz, Tiafoe, Paul and Maxime Cressy), two seeds in 2021 (Isner and Reilly Opelka) and two in 2020 (Isner, Fritz). Previously, the U.S. had four seeded men in 2016 (Isner, Steve Johnson, Jack Sock, Sam Querrey), 2012 and 2010 (both times being Isner, Querrey, Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish), and 2009 (Roddick, Fish, Querrey, James Blake).
The last time the U.S. had six seeds or more? That would be 1996, when No. 1 Pete Sampras defeated No. 2 Michael Chang in the final and Agassi. Jim Courier, Malivai Washington and Todd Martin also earned seeds that year, though Courier was forced to withdraw from the event. (Of note, the US Open switched from 16 to 32 seeds in 2001, when the U.S. also had five seeded men: Agassi, Roddick, Sampras, Martin and Jan-Michael Gambill.)
Here's a closer look at this year's U.S. five, their previous Open success and their outlook for this year’s event.
Taylor Fritz
Seed: 9
Best US Open Result: R3 (2018, 2020)
Fritz enters this year’s Open having played more hard-court matches (40) than anyone in men’s tennis in 2023 and trailing only Daniil Medvedev in wins (32 for Medvedev, 31 for Fritz). Throw in titles in Delray Beach and Atlanta and the 25-year-old is unquestionably one of the year’s hard-court standouts. Surprisingly, Fritz has yet to advance to the second week in Flushing Meadows, having maxed out at the third round in 2018 and 2020.
To get there this year, he will have to get past fellow American Johnson in the first round and potentially No. 18 seed Lorenzo Musetti in the third round. Awaiting down the road: No. 7 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or Eubanks in a possible fourth-round showdown and potentially 23-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.
Frances Tiafoe
Seed: 10
Best US Open Result: SF (2022)
Tiafoe was one of the stars of the 2022 US Open, knocking out Rafael Nadal and Andrey Rublev on his way to the semifinals, where he lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in five spellbinding sets. With that, he advanced to Week 2 in New York for the third consecutive year, having reached the fourth round in 2020 and 2021. Tiafoe, 25, has enjoyed a solid 2023, headlined by titles in Houston and Stuttgart and a semifinal posting in Indian Wells, but went just 2-3 during this summer’s hard-court season.
Like Fritz, he opens with an American—wild card Learner Tien—and has a generally favorable draw. No. 22 seed Adrian Mannarino awaits as a potential third-round opponent, with Korda or No. 5 seed Casper Ruud, who has struggled of late, positioned as his fourth-round foe and No. 4 seed Holger Rune lined up for the quarterfinals.
Tommy Paul
Seed: 14
Best US Open Result: R3 (2022)
Paul has enjoyed a breakout 2023, headlined by semifinal showings at the Australian Open—his first Grand Slam semi—and Toronto, where he knocked off Alcaraz in a brilliant three-setter. For good measure, the 26-year-old also reached the finals in Acapulco and Eastbourne this year to post a career-best ranking of No. 13, up from No. 33 a year ago.
After starting his US Open career 0-4, Paul advanced to the third round a year ago, losing to eventual finalist Ruud in the third of three consecutive five-setters (including against Korda in the second round). The former US Open junior finalist opens with a qualifier this year and is seeded to face the unpredictable Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round, Rune in the fourth round and Ruud in the quarterfinals.
Chris Eubanks
Seed: 28
Best US Open Result: R2 (2022)
The good-natured Eubanks was the darling of this year’s Wimbledon, charging past Cameron Norrie and Tsitsipas before falling to Medvedev in five sets in the quarterfinals. With that, the late-blooming 27-year-old vaulted from No. 77 to No. 43 in the world, a ranking he has since improved to as high as No. 29 following his run to the quarterfinals in his hometown tournament in Atlanta and to the Round of 16 in Washington, D.C.
It was a big climb for the former Georgia Tech standout, who opened the year bouncing between ATP tournaments and Challengers. He broke through by qualifying and advancing to the quarterfinals in Miami, then rode his big serve to his first tour-level title, at the Wimbledon tune-up in Mallorca. This will be Eubanks’ fifth US Open main draw, having lost in the opening round in 2017, 2019 and 2021 before advancing to the second round a year ago. He opens with Soonwoo Kwon and is seeded to face Tsitsipas in the third round, Fritz in the fourth round and Djokovic in the quarters.
Sebastian Korda
Seed: 31
Best US Open Result: R2 (2022)
Korda got off to a brilliant start to 2023, upsetting Medvedev and Hubert Hurkacz to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals, but a wrist injury there derailed his season and forced him out of action for three months. After a bumpy return to action, the promising 23-year-old, the son of former Australian Open champion Petr Korda, is now back on course. He reached the semifinals at Queen’s Club and is in the quarterfinals of the Winston-Salem Open. He opens the Open against Marton Fucsovics, who he defeated Wednesday in Winston-Salem, and is drawn to face Ruud in the third round, Tiafoe in the fourth round and Rune in the quarterfinals.
