The causes for American downfall are too complex for my meager mind. One thing that is very clear is that the men are in more trouble than the women. Both Williams sisters have been dealing with serious medical issues for much of the past two seasons forcing them to miss tournaments. Missing tournaments doesn't allow you to collect points necessary to be highly ranked. No one can argue that the Williams sisters have been the dominant force in womens tennis for the last decade. Hopefully they will be back on the court soon and will continue their dominance for a few more years.
The mystery lies on the mens side. Looking at the latest rankings you find that the Americans highest ranked player is Sam Querry. Young up and comers appear in the rankings as well including Donald Young and John Isner (who played in the longest tennis match in history at Wimbledon). These players are known throughout the American circuit, but globally the one American who carries real weight is Andy Roddick. Roddick's career has been one of ups and major downs. Roddick rose to world number one in 2003 following his win at the US Open (his only slam). Roddick has been in the top ten for a better part of a decade, reaching 4 other slam finals. He fell to Federer in a memorable Wimbledon match back in 2009. Roddick has had success, but his career is becoming more known for his antics and misses.
McEnroe made a career out of being the bad boy of tennis. His tirades were dealt with because he was winning. Roddick's antics often times appear to be childish. Roddick is known for his temper and misdirected rage (see the multiple broken racquets). Roddick is a world class player with a lot of potential, if he can harness it. Roddick has dealt with a series of injuries that has forced him to miss time on tour. All the greats go through this, it's how you bounce back that defines you. Nadal made amends for missing nearly a whole season by coming back and dominating slams. 2007-2009 Roddick dealt with injuries that cut into his time on tour. He was still able to put together a decent resume. 2009 really saw the return of Roddick. That was the year of Wimbledon. He came so close to knocking off Federer in very, very,very long tiebreak in the sweltering London heat. He underperformed at the US Open but came out swinging in Australia in 2010. The rest of 2010 was a nightmare for Roddick. Poor showings in smaller tournaments mirrored into poor showings at the slams. Roddick can hang those poor outings on illness and injury. After all, he won 2 tournaments in 2010.
He cannot blame illness or injury on his 2011 campaign. He has been stunned in the first round of several tournament, most recently by an Italian qualifier in Rome. Roddick performs better in the later stages of the season. His worst tournament is the French Open and his overall clay court performance is certainly nothing to brag about. 2011 is young, and by all accounts Roddick is healthy. Wimbledon and the US Open (including the US Open hardcourt series) is where he has the most success. We can't write off Andy Roddick just yet. He isn't James Blake. Roddick has won the US Open and has been to the finals of other slams. Roddick must have a decent performance at Roland Garros in order to get into a good position for Wimbledon. I am not a fan of Roddick personally, but I am hoping that he can put together one last run at a slam. It has been almost ten years since an American has won a slam, it would be nice to see Roddick win another.
*He better not be playing against Andy Murray.
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