“We always believed this would happen,” said Martin Blackman, the general manager for player development at the U.S.T.A., who has known all five players since their early years.
That was last year, though, and there was no guarantee that they or any of their compatriots would reproduce the magic of some of those days.
Looking at the draw in the middle of last week, Fritz’s eyes drifted to the quarter just above him, where Shelton, Paul and Tiafoe were crowded together.
Some big names were out, and his people were still very much alive.
Immediately he thought, “One of them is going to be in the semis,” and that was pretty cool.
Persons:
”, Martin Blackman, Serena Williams, —, Shelton, Paul
Organizations:
Gauff, Tiafoe, Sunday
Locations:
”