Tennis: Wimbledon and the sad state of American Tennis

Well, there are no Americans in th efourth roudn at Wimbledon for the 3rd time since 1922. What a sad state for American Tennis, eh? With the retirement of Aggassi after the US Open, adn Roddick not playing up to his normal self, where do we turn for inspiration?

Murray beat Roddick and he didnt look at his best that was for sure. But its these dual nationality things that bug me, Aggassi was from Armenia but ended up playing for the US. We had Rudeski who was Canadian and now we have Murray who is a Scot. Murray said that he hoped England got knocked out of the World Cup and we English people support him like he is our own. Well im glad he got knocked out of Wimbledon today, not that i have been watching much of it due to the World Cup lol.

But Gibbs its just not the US, its alot of other countries aswell. You can only keep producing these top players for so long, there always will be a lull. The same goes for alot of other sports..

Not that the English have been turning out top players for along time in tennis lol..

It looks like its the turn of the Russians or alot of former places in the old USSR..

I think were in the same boat in Oz, the scud has lost it and it appears as though Hewitt is struggling as well, taken to 5 sets by a little known player the other day, and i dont think he's won anything much before the lead up at Queens. I wonder if his recent marriage and birth of his first child has affected his tennis. If so i wish Federer and Nadal would hurry up and join the club it may bring them back to the field abit.

I must say ive always had a soft spot for Agassi, a true gentleman and good sport, he'll be sadly missed from the circuit imo.

I think that tennis has lost its appeal here in the USA. For a while, it had some big time players, but in the last 5-10 years, the talent has begun to fade. Pete Sampras retired, and Agassi is headed out soon. Jim Courier was dominant briefly, then disappeared. Andy Roddick reached his peak in 2003, and has gone downhill since. I have seen him get spanked fiercely by Roger Federer several times. There are some men on the horizon, though, most notably James Blake, who is poised to take over the top American spot from Roddick.

On the women's side, there is a dreadful scarcity of American talent. Venus Williams seems to be the last healthy player out there, but her game is just a shel of what it was five years ago. Her sister, Serena, is overweight, out of shape, and far too concerned with her off-the-court business ventures. I don't see either one of them ever being truly competitive again. Actually, I can't see Serena doing much of anything in tennis anymore. She may go the way of Anna Kournikova, who just dropped what got her to where she is today in favor of what tennis opened up for her (modeling for Kournikova, acting and marketing for Serena). The last American talent, Lindsay Davenport, is still quite competitive when she is healthy. Unfortunately, that is not too often nowadays; she has missed the French Open and Wimbledon. We'll see what she does at the U.S. Open.

I am a huge tennis fan, and I just see the other players of the world as being head and shoulders above the U.S. players. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are the big two in men's tennis, while Amelie Mauresmo, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Kim Clijsters, and Maria Sharapova are clearly ahead of the rest of the women.

[Edited on 7/9/06 by BirdstheBest]

Back to Wimbledon, the 4 top seeded Women all made it to the semifinals, the first time that has happened in a while, I'd think.

Hewitt through as well though not a intimidating display as per his normal game.

Has Roddick underachieved, i know there were big wraps on him here early on but he never really seemed to go on with it. Any reason why ?

I'm not sure whatever happened to Roddick, but he just doesn't sem to have the fire for some reason.

Originally posted by Gibbs Baby!!!
Back to Wimbledon, the 4 top seeded Women all made it to the semifinals, the first time that has happened in a while, I'd think.

They all did it at the French Open as well.

How long has it been since it happened in Wimbledon. I had read something that it had only happened there like 5 tiems before.

Well, Mauresemo pulled out the vicotry on the women's side, and Federer won the mens. I get so bored with the mens game anymore, it's just not exciting. The women are a bit more exciting, there is a good size crew of women who actually have a chance each tournament.

With the men's game, it all depends on who is playing. Federer is always fun to watch, and when he plays Nadal, it always is a treat. Federer is just amazing. He now has eight Grand Slam titles, including four Wimbledons in a row. Next year he will try to tie Bjorn Borg's record of five straight. He is only six shy of tying Pete Sampras for the most all time.