New grand slam champion guaranteed in men’s draw at 2022 U.S. Open

For only the third time ever in the Open Era in men’s tennis, there will be eight grand slam quarterfinalists in the singles draw who have never won a grand slam title before. The eight quarterfinalists seeking their first major win are the third seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, the fifth seed Casper Ruud of Norway, the ninth seed Andrey Rublev of Russia, the 11th seed Jannik Sinner of Italy, the 13th seed Matteo Berretini of Italy, the 22nd seed Frances Tiafoe of the United States, the 23rd seed Nick Kyrgios of Australia, and the 27th seed Karen Khachanov of Russia. The first two times in the Open Era that there were no grand slam quarterfinalists at a major championship in the men’s draw who had won a grand slam in the past were Wimbledon in 2003 and the United States Open in 2020 according to ESPN.

2003 Wimbledon

The eight grand slam quarterfinalists on grass 19 years ago were Switzerland’s Roger Federer, the United States’ Andy Roddick, the Netherlands’s Sjeng Schalken, Great Britain’s Tim Henman, France’s Sebastien Grosjean, Germany’s Alexander Popp, Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman, Australia’s Mark Philippoussis. Federer, the fourth seed, won his first of 20 grand slam singles titles as he defeated Philippoussis in the final, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6. Of the eight players in the singles draw, Bjorkman, Popp and Philippoussis were unseeded.

2020 United States Open

Two years ago at Flushing Meadows, the eight grand slam quarterfinalists were Dominic Thiem of Austria, Daniil Medvedev of Russia, Alexander Zverev of Germany, Andrey Rublev of Russia, Denis Shaopovalov of Canada, Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain, Alex De Minaur of Australia, and Borna Coric of Croatia. In the final, Thiem came down from two sets to love to beat Zverev, 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6.

2022 United States Open

Over the next two days, the four quarterfinal matches are Ruud versus Berrettini, Kyrgios versus Khachanov, Rublev versus Tiafoe, and Sinner versus Alcaraz. Ruud and Alcaraz can be first in the world if they reach the U.S. Open Final on Sunday.