For most of a generation the top American man has been a title that changed hands quietly, and for years now it has belonged to Taylor Fritz. He plays a plain, punishing style, a heavy first serve and a forehand that ends points early, built for fast courts and paid off there. In 2022 he walked onto the Indian Wells final court on a bad ankle and beat Rafael Nadal to take his first Masters 1000 title, ending the Spaniard's perfect start to the year and becoming the first American to win there since Andre Agassi in 2001.
The bigger stage kept asking harder questions. At the 2024 US Open he became the first American man in a major final since 2009, then ran into Jannik Sinner, and a year later reached the final in New York again with the same result. Grass has been the surface where his game sings loudest, a first Wimbledon semi-final in 2025 and repeated summer titles, several of them past his old foe Alexander Zverev. Fritz has climbed to a career high of world No. 4, carries 13 career titles, and remains the man his country leans on at the sport's biggest events.
Eleven. That is where Rafael Jodar stands on the ATP rankings after his Montreal semi-final, up from 15 and the best ranking of his career. He is 19, the youngest man in the top 20, and Learner Tien, 20, sits one place behind him at 12 after losing his own semi-final, also a career best, up from 19.
Ranking taleNine. That is how many places Rafael Jodar gained in the ATP rankings this week, from No. 24 to a career-best No. 15, after a run to the final in Washington. The 19-year-old Spaniard moves into the top 20.
Ranking tale