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An All-American Grand Slam Quarterfinal 16 Years in the Making

Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul are playing for a spot in the Australian Open semifinals. The United States has waited a long time for something like this.

The U.S. players Ben Shelton, left, and Tommy Paul will face off in an Australian Open quarterfinal match.Credit...Left: Joel Carrett/EPA, via Shutterstock; Right: Hannah McKay/Reuters

MELBOURNE, Australia — Maybe one day, and sooner rather than later, American men swimming in the deep end of the pool at Grand Slam tennis events will stop being noteworthy.

That is how it was during the first 40 years of the modern era of tennis, which began in 1968.