French Open 2025: Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe lose in quarterfinals, extend American men's Grand Slam drought
Paul and Tiafoe both came up short in Tuesday's quarterfinal matches
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2 min read
It has been more than 21 years since the image of Andy Roddick falling to his knees after winning the 2003 U.S. Open. That was the last time an American man won a Grand Slam tournament, a drought that continues on after Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe were both eliminated in the French Open quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Tiafoe was thoroughly outplayed by Italian Lorenzo Musetti, losing 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. The news was even worse for Paul, who was thumped by Carlos Alcaraz 6-0, 6-1, 6-4, extending a French Open drought that dates back to Andre Agassi in1999.
American men have started to creep closer to a major Grand Slam breakthrough in recent years. Paul and Tiafoe have had great runs, but also Ben Shelton, who fought tremendously in a fourth round losing effort against Alcaraz, and Taylor Fritz, who made a finals appearance in the 2024 U.S. Open.
The gap is closing more and that was made clear by Paul and Tiafoe both making the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, a feat that had not been accomplished by an American man since 2003.
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Why haven't American men won Grand Slams in so long?
Put simply, 2003 was the start of an era defined by the success of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Federer won his first of 20 Grand Slams at Wimbledon in 2003, Nadal's first of 22 came at the French Open the following year, and Djokovic's first of 24 came at the 2008 Australian Open. From 2004 to 2022, only 12 Grand Slam events were not won by the trio.
With Federer and Nadal headed into retirement and Djokovic in the twilight of his career at 38, a new generation of players will fill the void at the top of the game. So far, Alcaraz and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner have filled the gap, winning seven of the past 10 Grand Slam events. Djokovic won the other three. Unsurprisingly, all three men are still alive in the French Open.
Can an American break through?
Shelton's effort against Alcaraz -- the best clay court player in the game -- was herculean. He pushed Alcaraz in every set and earned plenty of respect from the world No. 2 in the process.
Paul was overwhelmed by Alcaraz but that was simply a bad matchup on paper for the American. And Tiafoe? Well, Tiafoe runs as hot and cold as anyone and Tuesday was a mighty cold day.
John McEnroe keyed in on the importance of an American breakthrough for the good of the game's future during a press call ahead of the tournament.
"Obviously, the key thing is, we gotta get a Ben Shelton to win one," McEnroe said. "We gotta get some American men to win some majors. And that would make it, to me, much more interesting, if Tiafoe, or Tommy Paul [stepped up]. We need a fresh generation in our sport, big time. It's a transition period where we have to do a much better job marketing ourselves, and hopefully this is … the beginning of something where we can do just that, with this tournament."
