The European clay-court swing has historically been a tough stretch for American men, and former ATP pro Steve Johnson isn’t sugarcoating the reality ahead of the Italian Open. With the Rome Masters transitioning into a grueling two-week format and top-ranked American Taylor Fritz absent from the draw due to ongoing injury in his right knee, the expectations will be on American No. 1 Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul. And Johnson shared his two cents on his compatriots’ chances of surviving the notoriously slow Roman dirt.
Steve Johnson Predicts Brutal Rome Masters Crash for Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul
During a recent episode of their podcast “Nothing Major Show,” Johnson and Sam Querrey broke down exactly why the conditions at the Foro Italico are a nightmare for the ATP players from the USA. Johnson joked that it would take a locker room catastrophe for them to gain an edge.
“I think they need some help from some poor food in the players’ lounge because Rome is not a tournament for Americans to do well,” Johnson quipped. “It’s slow. It’s just tricky, you know, no [Taylor] Fritz.”
He is referencing the stomach bug outbreak and sudden withdrawals and physical breakdowns for top players like Marin Cilic, Iga Świątek, and Madison Keys at the Madrid Open two weeks ago.
“Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton are going to be the two guys that you’re going to look for as Americans to do well in that event, to maybe have a deep run,” Johnson added. “Tommy, more so than Ben, is at the mercy of the draw. Can he get away from one of these top guys or a really good clay courter in his first seeded match?”
The former world No. 21 essentially wrote off their chances of making a deep run in Italy. “It’s a long stretch. The Americans just… Rome is a tough tournament, especially being two weeks,” Johnson stated bluntly. “I don’t see any Americans (men) really moving the needle, making a quarter or a semi, unfortunately.”
However, as per Johnson, they can do “just fine” at Roland Garros, as the slightly faster, bouncier clay can give the Americans a tactical advantage.
At this year’s Monte-Carlo Masters, Paul and Shelton failed to reach the quarterfinals. Still, Shelton did win the 2026 BMW Open in Munich, defeating Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 7-5 in the final to claim his fifth ATP title and become the first American since Andre Agassi in 2002 to win a clay-court title above the ATP 250 level.
While the men haven’t seen an American Roland Garros champion since Agassi in 1999, the US women have done well on the dirt. Serena Williams (a 3-time French Open champion) has adapted her footwork perfectly on clay, and Coco Gauff is the reigning champion at the French Open.
The Rome Masters began on Monday at Foro Italico in Rome. Both Shelton and Paul will play the Round of 64 on Friday.
