The United States dominates tennis like no other nation.

Not only has the US produced countless great champions across tennis history, but it is also the home to some of the biggest events in the sport.

The US hard-court summer is well underway, with the Cincinnati Open currently taking place – and the US Open starting in less than two weeks.

So what better time to delve through the record books, and look back at some of the greatest US players in history?

Here, focusing on singles accomplishments, we rank the nine greatest US male players of the Open and ATP Era.

9) Michael Chang

Chang is best remembered for becoming the youngest-ever male Grand Slam champion at the 1989 French Open – but there was much more to his career than that.

To start with, you can take in the players he beat to win that tournament; top seed and all-time great Ivan Lendl in round four, and then third seed and six-time major winner Stefan Edberg.

And he was no flash in the pan, reaching a second French Open final in 1995, losing to Thomas Muster, and finishing runner-up at the Australian and US Open in 1996.

He reached a career-high for world No 2 in September 1996 and won 34 ATP singles titles before retiring in 2003.

8) Stan Smith

Outside of tennis, Smith is probably best known for trainers – but his tennis career was more than worth of recognition.

Smith won 64 career singles titles across his career, with 48 coming in the ATP Era, and was also recognised as the world No 1 in 1971.

That year he reached the Wimbledon final before capturing his first singles major at the US Open, downing Jan Kodes in the final.

He backed that up with victory at SW19 in 1972, fending off former world No 1 Ilie Nastase for his second and final singles Slam.

7) Andy Roddick

Roddick remains the only US male to win a Grand Slam singles title in the 21st Century – a feat that has only seen his legacy grow in recent decades.

His sole major came at the US Open in 2003, downing Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final, and he would go on to spend 13 weeks as the world No 1.

Roddick reached a further US Open final in 2006 and three Wimbledon finals across the 2000s, and would have likely won a second Slam had it not been for long-term nemesis Roger Federer.

By the time Roddick called time on his career in 2012, he had won an impressive 32 singles titles – including five Masters 1000 victories.

6) Jim Courier

Courier was one of the dominant forces in the men’s game across the early 1990s, winning 23 titles and spending 58 weeks as world No 1 before his retirement in 2000.

He defeated compatriot Andre Agassi to win his first Grand Slam at the 1991 French Open, and then defeated Stefan Edberg in the 1992 Australian Open final.

Triumph at the 1992 French Open final saw him defend his title and sweep the first two majors of the year –  the last man to do that until Novak Djokovic in 2016.

Courier won his fourth Slam at the Australian Open in 1993 though reached a third straight French Open final that year, and is also a former Wimbledon and US Open runner-up.

5) Arthur Ashe

Few players will ever match the impact that Ashe had during his legendary career.

After pre-Open Era losses in the 1966 and 1967 Australian Open finals, the American claimed his first Slam title in the first ‘Open’ US Open in 1968 – beating Tom Okker in the final.

That made him the first – and still, the only – black man to win the US Open title, and he would go on to capture the Australian Open title in 1970.

He obtained further runner-up finishes at the US Open and Australian Open but is best remembered for his Wimbledon triumph in 1975, beating heavy favourite Jimmy Connors in the final.

Ashe reached a high of No 2 in the ATP Rankings and won 44 of his 76 titles during the ATP era.

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4) John McEnroe

One of the most iconic players of all time, McEnroe was a huge part of the ‘Golden Era’ of tennis across the late 1970s and early 1980s.

He is probably most spoken about in terms of his on-court behaviour – particularly the “You cannot be serious” incident at Wimbledon – but he is a true great of the sport.

He reached five straight Wimbledon singles finals in the 1980s, winning the tournament in 1981, 1983, and 1984, and finishing runner-up in 1980 and 1982.

McEnroe is also a four-time US Open champion and was the French Open runner-up in 1984, reaching 11 major finals in total, alongside claiming 77 ATP singles titles and spending 170 weeks as No 1.

3) Andre Agassi

Until recently, Agassi was the only man to win all four Grand Slam titles, the ATP Finals, and an Olympic gold medal – with Novak Djokovic having now emulated him.

After losing three major finals, Agassi defeated Goran Ivanisevic to win Wimbledon in 1992 and then claimed the 1994 US Open and 1995 Australian Open titles.

Agassi bounced back from personal difficulties to complete the Career Grand Slam at the 1999 French Open and won a second US Open title that summer – alongside three further Australian Open victories.

He reached 15 Grand Slam finals, won 60 career singles titles, and spent 101 weeks as the world No 1 weeks before his retirement in 2006.

2) Jimmy Connors

One of the best competitors tennis has ever seen, Connors was the dominant force in men’s tennis across the mid-to-late 1970s.

Connors won three of the four Grand Slam titles in 1974, prevailing at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open that season.

He captured five US Open titles overall – a joint record to this day – and memorably claimed a second SW19 title in 1982, beating McEnroe in an epic final.

Alongside his eight Grand Slam victories he reached a further seven finals, and his 109 career singles titles remain a record for the Open Era, while only four men have beaten his 268 weeks as No 1.

1) Pete Sampras

There was plenty of debate about the order of the players below the No 1 ranking – but it was obvious that ‘Pistol Pete’ would occupy the top spot.

His 14 Grand Slam singles titles were an Open Era record at the time of his final victory at the 2002 US Open, and only the ‘Big Three’ have overtaken him in the men’s game.

Sampras won his home major five times but is probably best remembered for his Wimbledon dominance, winning the title seven times out of eight from 1993 to 2000.

Two Australian Open trophies also sit pretty in his trophy cabinet and he won 64th singles titles in total, while his 286 weeks as No 1 are only beaten by Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

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