While Rafael Nadal was working on his “10” at the 2017 Men’s French Open, the American men were struggling to win a match.
A review of the UTR ratings for the top American players confirms they are some of the best in the world. For example, John Isner, Steve Johnson, and Sam Querrey are in the range of 15.6 to 15.8. Donald Young and Ryan Harrison are slightly lower, 15.4 to 15.5. The problem is that Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal are rated 16.1 to 16.4.
While the difference between a 15.4 and 16.4 may sound small, the difference on the court is significant. As a result, the American men were not competitive in the 2017 Men’s French Open.
A review to the ATP world rankings prior to the French Open indicates there were nine American men ranked in the top 100:
• #15 Jack Sock
• #22 John Isner
• #26 Steve Johnson
• #28 Sam Querrey
• #42 Ryan Harrison
• #51 Donald Young
• #68 Frances Tiafoe
• #72 Jared Donaldson
• #75 Ernesto Escobedo
It is impressive to know there are that many men ranked in the top 100; however, it is unlikely these or any other American players will win a Grand Slam singles events within the next two years.
For the 2017 Men’s French Open, the following Americans were seeded because they had world rankings in the top 30: Sock (14), Isner (21), Johnson (25), and Querrey (27). Unfortunately, Sock and Querrey were defeated by unseeded players in the first round.
John Isner and Steve Johnson held their seeds. Both won two matches before bowing out in the third round. At that time, Isner lost to an unseeded player and Johnson lost in three sets to #6 seed Dominic Thiem.
The following players exited in the first round.
• Jared Donaldson
• Sam Querrey
• Ernesto Escobedo
• Frances Tiafoe
• Donald Young
• Bjorn Fratangelo
• Jack Sock
• Ryan Harrison
• Tennys Sandgren
Only Donald Young lost to a seeded player. David Ferrer, seeded 30th, beat Young in five close sets.
Overall the American men won only 4 matches while losing 11 matches.