Lindsay Davenport says 'amazing vibe' is fueling U.S. success at 2025 Australian Open

American tennis is passing the vibe check at the Australian Open.

Lindsay Davenport, a former coach to Madison Keys, has found herself more finely attuned to the inner workings of U.S. tennis in the last year-plus, having debuted as the team's Billie Jean King Cup captain in 2024. And the former world No. 1 says that an "amazing vibe" is part of what's fueling American success at the year's first major.

"I say it all the time, you guys are sick of hearing it, but there's an amazing vibe in American tennis right now," Davenport said Saturday on Tennis Channel Live ahead of the start of the fourth round. "Between the females, the males, the younger players, the older players, they even practice with the juniors. That all plays into it."

Read more: The United States has reached another moment of truth at a Grand Slam

Seven U.S. players—three women and four men—are through to the singles fourth round in Melbourne, but much of the spark has been fueled by the breakout of childhood friends Alex Michelsen and Learner Tien, each of whom are into the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. With upsets of seeds Stefanos Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov, 20-year-old Michelsen is the youngest American man with multiple Top 20 wins at the same major since the 1990 US Open, while 19-year-old qualifier Tien's nearly five-hour stunner against No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev was arguably the biggest shock of the first week in either draw.

"If we had said it wouldn't be Taylor Fritz, it wouldn't be Frances Tiafoe, it's amazing," Davenport added. "It's not a changing of the guard, certainly, but it's nice to see that next generation coming through."

Read more: Alex Michelsen & Learner Tien: from pre-season to flying into Australian Open week two together

The year's first major has been a happy hunting ground for American players in recent years, with Sofia Kenin winning the women's title in 2020, Danielle Collins reaching the final in 2022, and three U.S. men featuring among the eight quarterfinalists in 2023.

As week two in Melbourne heats up, the rest of TC's pundits believe it's a matter of when, not if, more names get added to that list.

Read more: Learner Tien, aged 19 and in the round of 16, speaks softly, swings smoothly, and solves problems

"When you've got enough of the draws, some of them will come up," Jon Wertheim said, while Martina Navratilova added: "It's nice to see the Americans coming together like this, feeding off each other."

"We've seen it with other countries: when one player is successful, it feeds off to the rest of them and they really stick together," she added. "I think the Americans have learned from that, or maybe it's just natural the way it's working out, but they really are helping each other.