Americans are shining at the US Open
Zander's Weekend Facts #135: Sunday, September 8, 2024
Even though it is the tennis major championship that takes place in the United States, that doesn’t mean Americans always dominate the US Open. But in 2024, things are different.
In recent history, American women have been much more victorious than their male counterparts. In the last 18 years, American women have won the US Open women’s singles title six times, with Serena Williams climbing four of those. After Sloane Stephens won the title in 2017, an American woman hadn’t won the title until Coco Gauff claimed her first Grand Slam title last year. Yet still, Williams had made to two singles finals in that span.
And to add on, another American woman made her mark this year. Jessica Pegula, ranked sixth in the world, reached her first major tournament final, coming up short to second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5. While Pegula wasn’t able to finish on top, her emergence into the final, after beating Gauff and top-ranked Iga Swiatek to get there, shows that American women can still compete at the top of the game after the retirement of the Williams sisters. Gauff, Pegula, and other young stars such as Emma Navarro, will keep Americans in the conversation at the US Open, and the other Grand Slams, for years to come.
So on the women’s side, not much is new.
But for the men, a long-awaited drought will come to an end this weekend.
American #12 Taylor Fritz will play in the US Open men’s singles final later today, becoming the first American man to play for the last major title of the year since 2006. So in the 17 years that an American woman has at least made the US Open final eight times, there have been no American men in the final.
It’s been even longer since an American hoisted the trophy handed out by the United States Tennis Association. While Andy Roddick was the last U.S. male to make the US Open final in 2006, it was Roddick’s 2003 title that was the last time an American won the US Open men’s singles final.
While Fritz has already made history making it to the tournament’s final match, in what might be the most impactful match an American male tennis player has played in in over 20 years, a victory over the top-ranked player in the world, Jannik Sinner, would immediately put his name in the conversation for the best men’s tennis players currently playing.
And yet, Fritz is not the only American who has been making a name for himself on the biggest stages. Fritz had to defeat fellow American Francis Tiafoe in the semifinal to make the final, the first all-American semifinal in a Grand Slam in 19 years. Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, and Sebastian Korda all join Fritz and Tiafoe in the top 20 of the ATP rankings, with all of those players being younger than the age of 28. So while Fritz will be playing for patriotic pride as he seeks what would be a massive upset in the final of the US Open, expect many American names to be seeking the top prizes in the sport in the near future.
The US Open men’s singles final begins later today at 2:00 pm ET on ABC and ESPN+.
For more information on this week’s top story, here’s an article from The New York Times - Queens Is Abuzz Over Two Americans in the U.S. Open Finals
What Zander’s been reading
Often times the answer to traffic congestion seems to be… just add more lanes. Yet, studies continue to show that expanding highway capacity doesn’t have the impact you would think. This article from Slate looks back on how another almost unstoppable movement, dam building, was eventually halted and whether or not it means never-ending highway building could eventually slow to a crawl.
Check out this week’s featured article in Slate - How America Can Break Its Highway Addiction
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week:
Presidential Debate: The first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump is set for Tuesday night. Trump has already participated in a general election debate this election, having debated President Joe Biden before Biden dropped out of the presidential race. Notably, it will be the first time that Harris and Trump meet each other in person. The debate will take place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and begin at 9:00 pm ET. There will be no in-person audience and the microphone of the candidate not speaking will be muted. The debate is being hosted by ABC News and will air on all major networks and cable news channels.
Russia Influence: The Department of Justice accused the Russian government of spreading disinformation surrounding the 2024 U.S. presidential election last week. On Wednesday, DOJ announced that it had seized 32 domains that were tied to a Russian influence campaign that is being accused of spreading propaganda in the election. The Justice Department also indicted several Russian nationals who it says are connected to a scheme to influence American audiences with hidden Russian content. RT, a Russian state media network, allegedly spent $10 million to a Tennessee-based media company, Tenet Media, in order to get commentators to share viewpoints that “amplify divisions in the United States.”
Georgia School Shooting: Four people were killed and nine others injured in a school shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta. The shooter, 14-year-old Colt Gray who was a freshman at the school, was charged with felony murder and could face life in prison if convicted. Gray’s father, Colin, was also charged with murder and manslaughter after giving his son access to the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle that he used in the shooting. The gun was given to Colt as a Christmas present last year. Colt had previously been investigated by the FBI for making online threats.
New York Governor: A former aide to New York Governor Kathy Hochul was charged with acting as an illegal agent to the Chinese government last week. According to federal prosecutors, Linda Sun “"acted at the order, direction, or request” of Beijing and that her husband, who has also been charged, “facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars in kickbacks for personal gain.” Sun previously served as Hochul’s deputy chief of staff and prosecutors allege blocked representatives from Taiwan from meeting with Hochul.
Germany Election: In Germany’s state elections that took place last Sunday, a far-right party has won a state election for the first time since 1945. In the state of Thuringia, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party captured 31-33% of the vote, the highest of any party. Other parties, including the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who received the second-most votes in the state, and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the party of Prime Minister Olaf Scholz, have vowed not to form a coalition with the AfD, putting in doubt whether the far-right party will gain any governing power. The AfD also received 30-31% in Saxony, another eastern German state, just behind the CDU’s 31.5-32%.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the latest headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
NFL week 1: The National Football League season began on Thursday as the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs held on to beat the Ravens 27-20. The Eagles and Packers played on Friday in the league’s first ever game in Brazil, with the Eagles winning 34-29. Week 1 continues later today with Steelers-Falcons, Texans-Colts, and Jaguars-Dolphins among the games kicking off at 1:00 pm ET. At 4:00 pm ET, the Chargers host the Raiders, the Commanders take on the Buccaneers, and the Cowboys face the Browns. On Sunday night, the Rams visit the Lions, and the Jets face the 49ers to wrap up opening week on Monday night.
College Football week 2: #3 Texas had the win of the weekend in college football with a massive road victory over #10 Michigan, 31-12. In the other top 25 matchup of the day, #14 Tennessee took down handily #24 NC State 51-10. In Saturday’s biggest upset, #5 Notre Dame, coming off a massive road win against Texas A&M, lost to Northern Illinois 16-14 at home. A late rally by #4 Alabama staved off South Florida 42-16, while #14 Oklahoma held off Houston 16-12, and #8 Penn State survived Bowling Green 34-27. Elsewhere, Iowa State knocked off #21 Iowa 20-19, Syracuse upset #23 Georgia Tech 31-28, Illinois beat #19 Kansas 23-17, and #16 Oklahoma State needed double overtime to beat Arkansas 39-31.
Alex Morgan: Legendary U.S. Women’s National Team soccer player Alex Morgan announced her retirement last week, with her final game taking place later today. Morgan’s 123 goals for the U.S. are good for fifth all time amongst women’s players and her 176 combined goals and assists are also fifth all-time among U.S players. Stunningly, the U.S. never lost in a game in which Morgan scored, winning 76 and drawing 10 games where Morgan scored. Morgan’s final game, in which her San Diego Wave will host the North Carolina Courage in the final game of the NWSL regular season, will kick off at 8:00 pm ET and air on several networks, including CBS Sports Network, Paramount+, ESPN2, ESPN+, and Amazon Prime Video.
Wrapping up the Facts
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The Facts in print return next Sunday, September 15, 2024.