America Needs a New Men's Tennis Hero

Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse more stories
America Needs a New Men's Tennis Hero
(Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

The mid 70's to the turn of the century was a great time to be a tennis fan in the United States. With Sampras, Agassi, Connors, McEnroe, and Courier, the United States racked up 42 grand slam singles titles. 

Since then, the Americans have only won one Grand Slam Title; Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003.

Growing up, my tennis hero was Pete Sampras, a quiet man with the passion and fire to beat any player on the other side of the net. 

Now I have resorted to watching a bunch of mediocre American players trying to win a set against Federer and Nadal. 

Players from the U.S. struggle on any surface other than a hard court.  Clay has been dominated by Nadal. 

What has happened to the great American players?  Tennis used to be an American past time.  Now you can barely find an American in the top 30, with the exception of Andy Roddick and James Blake.

The future may not look as bleak as once thought.  With youngsters like Sam Querrey, John Isner, and Donald Young, there may be some promise.  It is just up to them to be the new face of tennis.  It's the face for which the United States has desperately been waiting.

We have already started seeing a slight drop in Federer's game, and it is only a matter of time before the wear and tear starts to show on the Nadal's body.  How many years will it be before a star rises to the top?  Only time will tell, but for tennis and America's sake, it had better be soon. 

In five years, we should not still be heralding the Bryan brothers as the face of American men's tennis.

Load More Stories

Out of Bounds


Subscribe Now

We will never share your email address

Thanks for signing up.