JOIN USUS men come to the party
Roddick, the main flagbearer for American men in recent years and the 2003 US Open champion, beat France’s Julien Benneteau, 22-year-old Young followed with a one-sided win over 24th seed Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina and Isner beat compatriot Alex Bogomolov to reach the fourth round.
All marched on in straight sets to form a quarter of the fourth round. Top-ranked American Mardy Fish was already in the round of 16 on the other half of the draw.
Since no US men made it to the second week at Wimbledon this summer, the American contingent can hold their heads high for performing well before the home fans at Flushing Meadows.
“It’s pretty impressive,” said Isner. “But you don’t get remembered for making the round of 16. You have to keep going on. That’s my goal.”
“I think the players, we’ve heard it quite a bit,” Young said about US players stepping up to meet expectations. “Yeah, it’s great. That’s the way it should be here, especially at the US Open.”
Roddick, 29, thinks Young, touted as a future star when at age 16 he became the youngest player ever to be ranked number one on the ITF junior circuit in 2005, has been egged on by the success of some other young Americans including Ryan Harrison. “There’s a healthy jealou-sy going on right now, which is good,” said Roddick, the last US male to win a Slam.