Fritz, Shelton lead American charge at US Open with first-round wins

NEW YORK :Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton got their U.S. Open campaigns off to a confident start on Sunday, cruising into the second round as they bid to end a 22-year title drought for American men in New York.

Fritz, who last year became the first American man since 2006 to reach the Flushing Meadows final, hit his stride after the first set on Louis Armstrong Stadium to subdue wildcard compatriot Emilio Nava 7-5 6-2 6-3, firing off 11 aces.

After his near miss last year, when he was runner-up to Jannik Sinner, Fritz is hoping he can follow in the footsteps of Madison Keys or Coco Gauff, who both claimed Grand Slam titles this year.

In fact, since Andy Roddick was the last home male player to lift the U.S. Open trophy in 2003, American women have collected 25 Grand Slam titles - with Venus and Serena Williams accounting for 19 of them.

"We're in a great place in American tennis," said Fritz, who will next play either Argentine Sebastian Baez or South African qualifier Lloyd Harris.

"The women have been really carrying for a long time but the men - we're coming."

Nava battled evenly with the fourth seed until the final game of the first set, where he dropped his serve with a pair of unforced errors, before helping Fritz to an early break in the second set with two double faults.

Fritz turned on the gas from there, breaking his opponent from the baseline to close out the second set, before getting the break in the third set with an unreturnable backhand in the fourth game.

"I really just settled into the match a bit more," said Fritz. "The returns started working for me a bit more, loosened up."

Shelton, semi-finalist at the hardcourt major in 2023, was brimming with confidence after earning his biggest title in Toronto this