U.S. men’s tennis surge
It’s been a long time since American men reached the apex of the sport of tennis- indeed, the last grand slam tournament won by any American man was back in 2003 (a year in which Andre Agassi won his last of seven slams at the Australian Open and Andy Roddick won his first and only slam at the U.S. Open).
Although tennis is a sport played throughout the world, American men have more often than not been among the game’s elite – In the 1930’s, there was Don Budge (the first tennis player to win all four grand slams consecutively); in the 40’s, it was Jack Kramer, Frank Parker and Bobby Riggs (yes, the same character who lost to Billy Jean King many years later in the famous “battle of the sexes”); in the 50’s Pancho Gonzales and Tony Trabert led the way; in the 60’s and early 70’s, we had Stan Smith and the great Arthur Ashe (still the only black man to win Wimbledon, the U.S Open or the Australian Open); in the later 70’s and early 80’s, there was bombastic local legend Jimmy Connors (the winner of 109 singles tournaments- the most of any player in history, including 8 grand slams); the 80’s also produced the controversial John McEnroe (the winner of more tournaments, if include doubles, of any player in history with 156); and in the 90’s and the first few years of the new millennium American men dominated the tennis world with Jim Courier, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras (perhaps the greatest U.S. tennis player ever). But since then it’s been bupkis.
Nearly 80 grand slam tournaments have come and gone since then with nary a single championship from folks who live in the wealthiest and most sports-craved nation on earth. Indeed, with the exception of John Isner (who once reached as high as #8 predicated almost entirely upon his serve which once reached 157 mph!), no American man has been even remotely close to among the sport’s top players in the last two decades. (Naturally, the women’s game is an entirely different story thanks primarily to the Williams sisters).
But, as Dylan said, times they are a changin. Based on the latest rankings, there is an avalanche of really strong American men tennis players on the horizon. While only one has cracked the top 10 thus far, numerous young players are on the cusp of potential greatness, even though most of America would likely not recognize any of these guys. Indeed, nine of the world’s current top 50 players are Americans: Taylor Fritz – 9th, Frances Tiafoe – 17th, Sebastian Korda – 31st, Tommy Paul – 35th, Jensen Brooksby- 39th, Reilly Opelka – 40th, Maxine Cressy – 41st, John Isner – 43rd, and Brandon Nakashima – 49th. Three more are close: Mackie McDonald – 65th, J.J. Wolf – 67th and Ben Shelton – 89th. And then there’s qualifier Michael Mmhoh- the #107 ranked player, who just took out Alexander Zverev, the #12 seed and former #2 in the world.
Other than Isner at age 37, they are all young guns, with plenty of time to hone and improve their skills and, most importantly, develop the mental and strategic game that separates the very good from the truly great in this sport. Indeed, except for “old” Macdonald at 27, they are all 25 or younger, with Brooksby, Korda, Nakashima and Shelton 22 or younger.
Many of them happen to be exceedingly tall, which can be a huge advantage for the most important shot in tennis, the serve – Brooksby and Shelton are 6′ 4, Fritz and Korda are 6′ 5, Cressy is 6′ 7 and Opelka is a whopping 6’11 (tied for the tallest ATP ranked player in history with Ivo Karlovic’). And unlike their tall American predecessors Isner and Sam Querry, these guys have much better all-round games, court coverage and endurance.
The other top Americans are more the size of what traditional greatness looks like in tennis – between 6 feet and 6′ ‘2. The greatest three to ever play the game- Federer, Nadal and Djokovich – are all in this sweet spot. And like these superstars, several of the “smaller” Americans are lightening quick and cover the court with the best of them – McDonald and Nakashima are special in that regard and no player in the world currently looks faster on the court to me than Tommy Paul.
They are also a diverse lot- hailing from expected tennis havens like California and Florida but also from Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Georgia, Ohio and even Paris and Saudi Arabia. And the heritage of many of these players is pretty unique- one is the son of parents from Sierre Leone (Tiafoe); another’s parents are from the Czech Republic where both were professional tennis players (his sister also happens to have been the #1 women’s golfer in the world)(Korda); one has parents who are French (Cressy); another has parents from Japan and Vietnam (Nakashima) and one has the unusual combination of a Nigerian father and Irish mother (Mmoh).
And if the ongoing Australian Open is any indication, the future looks very bright indeed. Of the 32 players currently left from a field of 128, there are 8 Americans remaining. The only other countries with more than one guy still playing are Russia, Canada and Great Britain, each of which have two. It has been the greatest collective performance by American men’s tennis at a major in decades. While it is highly unlikely that any of these guys will make it to the final, much less win the tournament, it bodes well for American tennis in the future and the prospect that the United States will finally break the Grand Slam drought before long.
Better performances by Americans and by a more diverse group of players, will undoubtedly strengthen the interest in tennis by our young people. And if we can get some of our best young athletes in minority communities to be more interested in tennis (the way they currently are in basketball and the dangerous sport of football), and help support those efforts with early training and access to courts and more advanced instruction, I have no doubt that America can once again be a leader in producing the best tennis players in the world.
Related to that proposition, a friend of mine has been instrumental in starting and helping fund a program for inner city kids that teaches tennis at an early age, along with reading and social development. Their stated mission is “Building positive self-esteem, confidence, and a pathway to post-secondary success for under resourced youth through in-school, after school and summer tennis and educational programs.” While the objective is more about providing opportunity, education and life lessons in an atmosphere that is fun and promotes learning, rather that finding the next great tennis star, who knows? In any event, I would encourage my readers and followers to check out and consider donating to this most worthwhile of causes. See their website and what they do at https://breakpoint.tripleayouthfoundation.org where you can also donate. Thanks for your consideration!
