US Tennis Players: Who's the next star of American tennis?

Players Under the Microscope / Sean Calvert / 12 August 2010 / Leave a Comment

Sam Querrey and John Isner are the US players most likely to succed Andy Roddick as their country's big Grand Slam hope

"Roddick’s removal from the top 10 comes at a time when the USTA least needed that to happen - with all eyes on the US Open in a few weeks' time, but this
is the perfect moment for the new kids on the block to show that US
tennis is in good hands post Roddick and Blake."

With Andy Roddick slipping out of the world's Top 10, USA are now without a player in the world's elite for the first time since the rankings system began. Sean Calvert looks at who the USA are pinning their hopes on as the next big star...

The ranking points from 2009 that Andy Roddick failed to defend at Wimbledon and Washington saw him tumble out of the top ten standings and with it went America's proud record of having a player there since the rankings began.

Roddick himself has been a resident in the top ten since he dipped out briefly in the summer of 2006, but there were others, such as James Blake, to take his place then.

Blake is now outside the top 100 and winding down to retirement, so who will be America's next top ten tennis star?

Roddick's removal from the top 10 comes at a time when the USTA least needed that to happen - with all eyes on the US Open in a few weeks' time, but this is the perfect moment for the new kids on the block to show that US tennis is in good hands post Roddick and Blake.

America has a resurgent Mardy Fish and improving young guns Sam Querrey and John Isner in the immediate future, but Fish's newly found focus comes in his 29th year and it's hard to see him cracking the top 10.

He was outside the top 100 in March and is currently at 34, so he's had a great year, but longer term it's not impossible that either Querrey or Isner could do it.

I'm not convinced that Querrey has the belief and consistency to be a top 10 player though, as his defeat to Kevin Anderson this week shows, while Isner is always likely to struggle on anything other than a hard court, so let's have a look at who else is out there.

The great US hope for a long time was Donald Young, who was so hyped up as the next Roger Federer over the pond that a certain UK bookmaker who shall remain nameless offered a special of 'Donald Young to win Wimbledon in his lifetime' bet and priced it up at just [2.5].

That bet would be more like [1000.0] at the moment, as the now 21-year-old Young is still outside the top 100 and only ever gets into the main draw of an ATP Tour level event when he's handed a wild card, as he was in his home town of Atlanta recently (lost in round two to Kevin Anderson).

The former all-conquering junior Wimbledon champ has had his problems with the USTA allegedly pressurising him to ditch his coaches (his parents) and various other issues, but he is only a year younger than Querrey, who is number 21 in the world.

Anyone foolish enough to take that [2.5] might be interested to know that Young lost in the first qualifying round of Wimbledon 2010 to the mighty Guillermo Alcaide - a Spaniard ranked 238 in the world.

Other than Querrey, Fish and Isner, the only other US male in the top 100 is Taylor Dent, who has done excellently to climb back up the rankings from 879 to 81 after years of major back problems, but at 29 he's not going to get much higher.

Bubbling under that top 100 with Young are the likes of Ryan Sweeting (116), Robby Ginepri (118), Kevin Kim (148), Rajeev Ram (151), Jesse Levine (153), Robert Kendrick (159) and Jesse Witten (186).

These are mainly journeymen pros, with the possible exception of Sweeting, who at 23, is improving and may yet catch fire. And surely the States won't be claiming naturalised American Tommy Haas (150), should he be able to recapture former glories at the age of 32.

The one that's caught my eye in the few main draw appearances that he's made has been Ryan Harrison, who is currently at (227) in the world, but at only 18-years-of-age, Ryan has shown a lot of promise.

'Harry' got to the last 32 on hard in both Memphis and Delray Beach (losing to Isner and Ernests Gulbis respectively) and he reached the last 64 in Indian Wells, losing to eventual champion Ivan Ljubicic and that's good form for an 18-year-old.

He's also shown some promising grass court form this summer, beating some decent players en route to last eight showings at Nottingham and Newport, Rhode Island.

The former world junior number seven looks to be well guided by his father Pat and the USTA and trains at the Nick Bolletieri Academy. He is also only the 10th player in ATP Tour history to have won a tour level match under the age of 16, which puts him in company with the likes of Rafa Nadal and Richard Gasquet.

Lets hope for the sake of American tennis that he turns out more like the former than the latter.