US tennis has not seen a men’s Grand Slam singles champion in decades.

The last American man to win a Grand Slam has handed out his advice to the latest contenders to try and end the wait.

Andy Roddick is a tennis legend in the United States, the big-serving Nebraskan won 32 tour-level singles titles which includes the 2003 US Open Grand Slam.

Roddick finished in the top 10 of the ATP rankings for nine straight years between 2002-2010 and became World No.1 in November, 2003.

The now 42-year-old knows all about Grand Slam finals and what it takes to win one but also how easy it is to lose one. 

Roddick reached five major singles finals, winning one in 2003 but losing the other four – all to Roger Federer – with three at Wimbledon and one in 2006 at the US Open.

Therefore, he knows exactly the position the current US tennis stars are in with dominant figures like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz set to sweep up majors in the coming years. 

Although Roddick backs the current crop and singled out Taylor Fritz as the leading light – he says there is one glaring question to answer.

“The guy is a worker,” he said on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast. “He is a tour rat, and I say that in the best possible way.

“The guy never wants to take weeks off, he just wants to play tennis. He is there every week, he puts the work in.

“He goes in there and punches every time. The question is – and I remember the tour finals when he lost to Sinner for the second time – can, and he needs to, change his tactics against Jannik Sinner.”

Fritz, who is ranked number four in the world, reached his first Grand Slam final at the US Open in 2024 but lost to World No.1 Sinner.

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Four other US players sit in the top 25 of the world rankings, with Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and Sebastian Korda all highly rated.

Roddick called Shelton ‘a crazy athlete’ and predicted where he will finish in the rankings next year.

“Ben Shelton, on the job training, finished lower this year than he did before but I think he’s a better player,” he said.

“I think getting stuck between hyper aggression and being able to rely on his wheels, crazy athlete.

“He is going to end this next year close to the top ten.”

Shelton has a career high ranking of 13 which he reached in August of 2024, the 22-year-old picked up his second ATP title last year in Houston.

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Tiafoe is also another US star, who is a former World No.10, the 26-year-old has picked up three titles in his career but had a largely unsuccessful 2024.

Roddick claims Tiafoe is struggling to bring his level all year-round and states that he is a top five player at the US Open but a top 20 player everywhere else.

“He is someone who the brighter the lights, the brighter that smile gets. He is a joy to watch and be around and he would probably tell you ‘I want to be consistent,” Roddick added..

“Can I produce the level that I have consistently produced at the US Open for 15 weeks a year?”

“It’s weird because if he is 20 in the world for every other part of the world, he is top five in the world when he gets to the US Open.”

The Australian Open begins on Sunday with Fritz beginning his campaign against fellow American Jenson Brooksby.