Americans at the ATP Finals: A review of the last 30 years

The ATP Finals, the tournament that brings together the 8 most successful tennis players of the season, is undoubtedly one of the most prestigious competitions on the Tour. After an era of absolute dominance in the 90's, American tennis experienced a setback in the 2000's in which they barely appeared in the decisive stages of the event. Fortunately for the Americans, the emergence of Taylor Fritz could put an end to a 25-year drought without titles in the last great challenge of the year.

A legacy of great champions

The Americans marked the course of tennis during the 80's and 90's. Figures like Jimmy Connors and closer in time, Andre Agassi and the most recent champion, Pete Sampras (winner in 1999) put their country to the top and it seemed that their drought would never end.

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However, the 2000's arrived and with the decline of the careers of the aforementioned legends and the emergence of iconic players such as Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, the United States was overtaken and barely managed to get one man into the finals of the Masters tournament in the last quarter century: James Blake.

Blake was the last to reach the final before Taylor Fritz, achieving this milestone in 2006, where he was defeated by the Swiss master;

Taylor Fritz, the new hope

Taylor Fritz became the first American to reach the ATP Finals final since Blake after defeating the world No. 2. His victory over Alexander Zverev in the semifinals was a turning point, and he will now have the chance to break the quarter-century-long title drought for Americans in this tournament.

U.S. champions and finalists in the last 30 years:

• Champions: Pete Sampras (1999)
• Finalists: James Blake (2006).

Can No. 5 turn the tide of history against a Jannik Sinner who will be looking to crown himself as the master of masters at home? We'll find out this coming Sunday.