A big move was made for American men after the second week of the Emirates U. S. Open Series, with Donald Young reentering the top 50 for the first time in two years, and Steve Johnson reaching a career high No. 54.

It was a notable week for Young in Washington, D. C., where he made his first semifinal appearance at an ATP event since reaching the Thailand Open final in 2011. The resurging American’s semifinal appearance was good enough to help him move 23 spots in the rankings, as well as jumping from the fifth- to the second-ranked American.

In 2012, Young endured a 17-match losing streak, the third-longest in the Open era. He fell into a downward spiral, dropping outside the top 200. Since then, Young has been able to improve his game on all sides of the court, and his recent results have shown it.

Young’s mental game is what has improved most all season. Instead of giving himself fits, Young has been able to keep his head high with confidence until the end of each match. He has also been able to cut down on his double faults in each match, a problem he has faced his whole career.

Other notable results for Young this season include a career-best third-round appearance at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros. He has also earned two top-25 wins against Andreas Seppi in Melbourne and Kevin Anderson in D. C. last week.

Johnson continued his career year in D.C last week, reaching his fifth and most impressive quarterfinal of the year. The No. 3 American has also earned two Challenger titles, winning in Guadeloupe and Dallas. In D. C., Johnson strung together impressive wins against big servers John Isner and Ivo Karlovic, before falling to eventual champion Milos Raonic.

Johnson has been the best American male since Isner after playing tennis in college.  This season, he has already won 14 matches on the ATP level. Since turning pro prior to the 2014 season, he only won seven.

Going into Cincinnati next week, Johnson will only have 58 points to defend for the rest of the season. His ranking will give him a chance to travel for the hard-court swing in the fall and potentially end the year inside the top 50.

As they prepare for the last Grand Slam this season, Young and Johnson both come in playing the best tennis of their careers. They have also given themselves a chance to play a full year on Tour instead of finishing the year playing Challenger-level events with their rankings. Their dramatic improvement over the year has been well deserved. Whatever results hold in store for them, these American men are headed in the right direction.