Frances Tiafoe's Cincinnati Open heroics lead to 5 American men in ATP Top 20 for the first time since 1997 ft. Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton

Taylor Fritz (L), Frances Tiafoe (M), Ben Shelton (R). (Images: All via GETTY)
Taylor Fritz (L), Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton (R) (Images: All from Getty)

Frances Tiafoe's impressive runner-up finish at the 2024 Cincinnati Open resulted in five American men appearing in the ATP Top 20 rankings for the first time since 1997. The other four Americans in the ATP Top 20 are Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, and Sebastian Korda.

In February 1997, Pete Sampras (World No. 1), Michael Chang (World No. 3), Andre Agassi (World No. 13), Todd Martin (World No. 15), and Jim Courier (World No. 18) were the five American men in the Top 20 rankings.

27 years later, the feat has been achieved again as five American men now occupy spots on the latest ATP Top 20 rankings. Although the dominance is not the same as none of the five Americans this time occupy a spot in the Top 10, it is perhaps a sign of better things to come for the USA.

Following Frances Tiafoe's run to the Cincinnati final (and subsequent loss to Jannik Sinner), the 26-year-old returned to the Top 20 for the first time since March. Ben Shelton also ranked up a spot following his semifinal run in Cincinnati.

The current five Americans' ranks in the ATP Top 20 ahead of the 2024 US Open are as follows: Taylor Fritz (World No. 12), Ben Shelton (World No. 13), Tommy Paul (World No. 14), Sebastian Korda (World No. 16), and Frances Tiafoe (World No. 20).


Frances Tiafoe rejoices in return to ATP Top 20 following Cincinnati Open 2024

Jannik Sinner (L) and Frances Tiafoe with their Cincinnati Open 2024 trophies. (Image via Getty)
Jannik Sinner (L) and Frances Tiafoe with their Cincinnati Open 2024 trophies. (Image via Getty)

Frances Tiafoe entered the ATP Top 20 in September 2022 and reached a career-high of World No. 10. He stayed within the Top 20 until he dropped to World No. 22 in March 2024.

In July, Tiafoe began his partnership with American coach David Witt and it has borne fruit as the 26-year-old has reached his best Masters 1000 finish just a month later, apart from returning to the Top 20 of the ATP rankings. He said (via ATP Tour):

“Sucked being outside of Top 20. I've been in Top 20 for a couple years now. So, yeah, that's a great sign... And now I can just kind of keep going and keep pushing and try to get back to where I need to be in the top of the game. I think I'm one of the better players in the world, but definitely wasn't playing like that for a lot of the year. So happy I am now.”

After getting the better of the likes of Lorenzo Musetti and Holger Rune, Tiafoe fell short against World No. 1 Jannik Sinner 7-6(4), 6-2 in the final. However, with his recent form, the American looks forward to the upcoming US Open.

“The ball kind of starts making sense for me in August. I always play really well during this time... I love playing in America. I love the US Open. So, I always want to be at my best going into that time. And if this is any indication of playing great tennis, it looks like the US Open's going to be a good one,” Tiafoe said.

The US Open main draw matches are scheduled to begin on Monday, August 26. The draw for the event will take place on Thursday, August 22.

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Edited by Aayush Kapoor
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