Category: Grand Slam Results

American Juniors Have Mediocre Outing at 2015 Australian Open Juniors

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The nine American juniors who played the 2015 Australian Open juniors had limited success.

Raveena Kingsley (3-1) advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to Katie Swan. Swan actually lives in Wichita Kansas, but represents Great Britain.

Kingsley was joined by Jessica Ho (1-1) and Olivia Hauger (1-1), who won a round before losing. In 2014 Hauger (3-1) was a quarterfinalist.

Raquel Pedraza (0-1) and Mia Horvit (0-1) both dropped their first round matches.

The boys had similar results. Taylor Harry Fritz (3-1), the number three seed was upset in the quarterfinals.

Sameer Kumar (2-1), won two matches and William Blumberg (1-1) lost in the second round.

Michael Mmoh (0-1) lost in the first round. Last year Mmoh was 1-1.

Overall, the boys were 6-4 and the girls were 5-5.

Here’s to a larger contingency of players and a stronger showing at the French Open in June.

American Men Out in First Week of Australian Open

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Week one of the 2015 Australian Open has come and gone – and so have all of the American men.

Sad to say, their performance supported the comments made by Pete Sampras at a recent IPTL press conference. He stated that he doesn’t see any American men on the horizon who are capable of breaking into the top ten. Sampras was asked to comment on the reasons for the demise of the American me. He was diplomatic and mentioned there were a lot of reasons.

Many in the industry would say the crux of the problem is the inept USTA Player Development program. Without any star American men, young boys don’t aspire to be tennis players, much as they did when Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras were at the top of their games.

In addition, some feel that American kids have too many options. The sport has enjoyed growth around the globe and young players from other countries are motivated than you Americans.

This year there were only 7 men in the Australian Open, compared to 12 last year. Fortunately Tim Smyczek and Michael Russell qualified, otherwise there would have only been five Americans.

John Isner is the constant for the American men. He was seeded in 19th and he held his seed. He won two matches prior to bowing out in the round of 32. Steve Johnson was also 2-1.

Denis Kudia, Sam Querrey, and Michael Russell were first round losers.

Donald Young and Tim Smyczek both won a match before losing in the second round. To Smyczek’s credit, he took Rafael Nadal to five sets before bowing out.

Overall the men won six matches and lost seven.

The Grand Slams are much more fun to follow when there are American men playing during the second week of the tournament!

American Women – More Fizzle than Sizzle at U.S. Open

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With the exception of Serena Williams, there was more fizzle than sizzle on the courts for the American women at the 2014 U.S. Open.

The pre-match publicity set high expectations for the American women. Unfortunately, they didn’t live up to the hype.

The best news was that twelve of the seventeen women advanced past the first round and Serena captured her 18th Grand Slam.

First round losers included Taylor Townsend, Lauren Davis, Alison Riske, Grace Min, and Danielle Collins.

The second round reduced the number of American women from twelve to four.

The losers included Vania King, Coco Vandeweghe, Shelby Rogers, Madison Keys, Christina McHale, C.C. Bellis, Sloane Stephens, and Madison Brengle. The losses by Keys and Stephens were particularly painful.

Varvara Lepchenko, Nicole Gibbs, and Venus Williams bowed out in the third round, with 2-1 records.

There were some bright spots. Overall, the American women won 21 matches and lost 16. (Serena Williams won seven of those matches).

Despite first round loses, Americans Taylor Townsend and Donald Young teamed up to reach the semifinals of the Mixed Doubles. Unfortunately, success in professional tennis is usually measured in Grand Slam singles wins and trophies.

C.C. Bellis charmed spectators with her tennis and innocence. Time will tell if she turns out to be a rising star or the next Melanie Oudin.

The 2014 U.S. Open was a test of not only the player’s tennis skills, but their physical strength and fitness level. Eugenie Bouchard and Peng Shuai can attest to that. Much of the event was played under the WTA Tour’s extreme heat rules, which presented an extra challenge to players in all brackets.

What is in store for the American women when the Williams sisters retire? At the moment the answer is simple. There is heir apparent among the younger American women.

Congratulations to Serena Williams on another great Grand Slam performance.

 

American Juniors Have Strong Showing at 2014 U.S. Open

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The combination of a home court advantage and solid play propelled the American juniors to a strong showing at the 2014 U.S. Open. It also helped that the boys had 17 entrants and the girls 19 in the 64 player draws.

For the boys, seven players advanced out of the first round. The following ten players lost their only match: Dennis Uspensky, Logan Smith, Walker Duncan, Aron Hitzik, Sameer Kumar, Deton Baughman, Tommy Paul, Michael Mmoh, Eduardo Nava, and John McNally.

Only two of the remaining seven players dropped their second round matches: Reilly Opelka, and Alex Rybakov.

In the third round, three players exited the tournament with 2-1 records: Taylor Harry-Fritz, Henrik Wiersholm, and Jared Donaldson.

Stefan Kozlov was ousted in the fourth round (quarterfinals) with a 3-1 record.  Frances Tiafoe was defeated in the semifinals with a 4-1 record.

Overall, the group won 15 matches and lost 17. Although none of the players advanced to the finals, they had one player in the semis, two in the quarters, and five in the round of sixteen.

The results for the girls were similar.

Nine players advanced out of the first round with ten players dropping their only match: Katrine Steffenson, Ingrid Neel, Sofia Kenin, Claire Lu, Brooke Austin, Jessica Ho, Madison Bourguignon, Dasha Ivanova, Kylie McKenzie, and Ena Shibahara.

Five of the remaining nine players were defeated in the second round with 1-1 records: C.C. Bellis, Michaela Gordon, Francesca Delorenzo, Kelly Chen, and Usue Maitane Arconada.

Only one of the remaining four players exited in the third round: Raveena Kingsley. She had a 2-1 record.

In the fourth round (quarterfinals), Tornado Alicia Black was defeated. She won three matches before losing.

Katerina Stewart and Carolyn Dolehide were ousted in the semifinals. Both were 4-1.

Overall, the group won 18 matches and lost 19. Despite the fact that none of the players advanced to the finals, two players were in the semifinals, three were in the quarterfinals, and four were in the round of sixteen.

Does this strong showing bode well for American tennis in the future?

These American juniors are some of the top players in the world. A majority of them will test their skills on the pro tour and some will end up in the top 100. That is the good news.

The most recent group of juniors to enter the pro ranks (Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys, Alison Riske, et. al.) are demonstrating how difficult it is to become an elite player. The current group of  juniors are likely to face even greater challenges.

If anything, the 2014 U.S. Open demonstrated how tough it is for young players to become an elite player and continue to play at that level.

 

Chicago Cubs, ’69 Mets, USTA Player Development

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What do the Chicago Cubs, 1969 New York Mets, and USTA Player Development have in common? They are the laughing stock of professional sports.

The performance of the American men at Wimbledon was embarrassing. The men won five matches and lost ten. Nobody advanced past the third round.

On the stage of the U.S. Open, the greatest Grand Slam for American players, the performance of the American men was even worse than Wimbledon. They won five matches and lost twelve. Even worse, they lost nine of the matches 3-0, i.e. the American men were not competitive.

First round losers included Marcos Giron, Bradley Klahn, Donald Young, Wayne Odesnik, Jack Sock, Steve Johnson, Noah Rubin, Ryan Harrison, and Jared Donaldson.

Tim Smyczek was 1-1, winning his first round match before being thumped by Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round.

Both Sam Querrey and John Isner won two matches before bowing out in the third round. Querrey was destroyed by Novak Djokovic while Isner lost in four sets to veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber.

The combined record of the American men at the U.S. Open was 5 and 12.

The American men are excellent players; however, none of them are elite players and they never will be. It is clear the player development programs of other countries have aspirations for greatness that far exceed those of the USTA Player Development program.

At best, the USTA Player Development program has developed sparring partners for the world’s elite players. Hopefully, the leadership of the USTA has taken notice and will make changes. The U.S. Open would be a lot more fun to watch, if American players were strong enough to compete in the second week of the tournament.

American Junior Boys Have Stellar Performance at Wimbledon

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After a subpar performance at the French Open, the American junior boys were dominant at Wimbledon. It’s about time!

On the other hand the girls fared slightly better than at Roland Garros, which isn’t saying much.

Overall the boys won 22 matches while losing 8 and the girls won 8 matches and lost 9.

Henrik Wiersholm and Dennis Uspensky were the only two American junior boys to lose in the first round. The remaining 7 boys won their first and second round matches.

Francis Tiafoe, Alex Rybakov, Michael Mmoh, and Logan Smith lost in the third round.

Three of the semifinalists were Americans: Noah Rubin, Taylor Harry Fritz, and Stefan Kozlov. Rubin beat Fritz in his semis matches before losing to Kozlov in the finals. At the French Open Kozlov lost in the quarterfinals, while Rubin was downed in the second round. With good fortune, his strong play will carry over into the U.S. Open.

In the girls draw, Kaitlyn McCarty, Katrine Steffensen, Raveeena Kingsley, Usae Maitane Arconada, and Catherine Bellis lost in the first round. Dasha Ivanova and Sofia Kenin dropped their second round matches.

Tornado Alicia Black and Michaela Gorden won three matches before being eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Congratulations to the entire group of American junior boys and girls. A special tip of the hat goes to Koslov, Rubin, and Fritz. Hopefully, this strong showing is not an anomaly, but a sign of things to come for American tennis.

USTA Player Development MIA at Wimbledon

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There was something different about the results for the men’s and women’s draw at Wimbledon 2014 – No American advanced past the third round in the singles. In fact, only one American man and five women made it to the third round.

Sadly, the embarrassing showing of the Americans made their abysmal showing at the French Open look somewhat respectable. Even worse, Wimbledon is a tournament where the Americans usually play well.

Clearly, the results of the men and women accentuate the fact that the USTA Player Development has been MIA for a number of years. The program may be taking credit for developing players, but it is not producing elite players at the international level.

On the men’s side, John Isner was the only player to have a winning record. He exited in the third round.

Sam Querrey, Jack Sock, and Denis Kudla all lost in the second round after winning a match. Bradley Klahn, Steve Johnson, AlexKuznetsov, Ryan Harrison, Donald Young, and Michael Russell were all first round losers.

The men won 5 matches and lost 10. In other words, if the American men had combined all of their wins and allocated them to one player, they would have lost in the semifinals.

The American men are excellent players; however, with the exception of Isner and Querry, they are ranked closer to 100 than number 1. The player development programs of other countries appear to have aspirations for greatness that exceed those of the USTA Player Development program.

Memo #1 to USTA Player Development.
Topic: There were no American men players in the round of 16.

The following countries had multiple players in the round of 16:
• Spain – 3
• France – 2
• Switzerland – 2
The following countries had one player in the 16s: Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Serbia, and South Africa. The player from Serbia won the tournament.

There were 13 Americans in the women’s draw. Combined, they won 13 matches and lost 13.

The first round losers included: Anna Tatishvili, Christina McHale, Taylor Townsend, Sloane Stephens, and Vania King. They were joined on the sidelines by second round losers Victoria Duval, Coco Vandeweghe, and Varvara Lepchenko.

The following American women won two matches before exiting the tournament: Serena Williams, Alison Riske, Madison Keys, Venus Williams, and Lauren Davis. Game over for the women!

The recent American youngsters to appear on the big stage are finding that life is tougher than it looks like from the sidelines.

Memo #2 to USTA Player Development.
Topic: There were no American women players in the round of 16.

The following countries had multiple playing in the Round of 16:
• Czechoslovakia – 4
• Germany -2
• Russia – 2
• Kazakhstan – 2
The following countries had one player in the 16s: Canada, China, Denmark, France, Poland, and Romania. One of the players from Czechoslovakia was the winner.

Wimbledon 2014 confirmed what was expected last summer. At that time it appeared there were either an inordinate number of upsets or a changing of the guard. The recent results confirmed the latter has occurred.  Halep, Bouchard, Kvitova, and the host of other young players have begun to take over the top spots in the women’s game.

Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer, still control the men’s sport, but the youngsters are rattling their sabers that change is on the horizon in the not too distant future.

Hopefully the leaders of the USTA and the USTA Player Development Program were watching. Wimbledon is much more fun to watch when Americans are playing in the finals!

USTA Player Development Program – Subpar Performance of American Juniors at French Open

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The pattern of subpar performance of American open junior was evident at the 2014 French Open – yet another sign of the ineffectiveness of the USTA Player Development Program.

Some argue the issue is the clay at Roland Garros, not the leadership within the USTA. American players have not fared as well at the French Open as other Grand Slam events. The American men have only won the event four times in the open Era  (47 years) while the women have won it fourteen times (Chris Evert won it seven times).

The seven American boys started the 2014 French Open on a positive note winning their first round matches (Francis Tiafoe, Noah Rubin, Alex Rybakov, Michael Mmoh, Stefan Kozlov, Henrik Wiersholm, and Taylor Harry Fritz). Unfortunately, Kozlov was the only player to advance beyond the second round.

Kozlov eventually won three matches before bowing out in the quarterfinals. With the strong first round performance, the American Boys won nine matches and lost eight.

The performance by the girls was the weakest in years. Katrine Steffensen, Tornado Alicia Black, Sofia Kenin, Riveena Kingsley, and Dasha Invanova all lost first round matches. Usue Maitane Arconada won a match before exiting in the second round and Catherine Bellis won two matches before bowing out in the third round.

Overall, the girls won three matches and lost seven.

At best, the USTA Player Development Program has been ineffective. By comparison a player from Spain has won the men’s French Open fourteen times in the past 21 years, i.e. the Open Era. During this period players from Spain have not been in the finals on only six occasions (1995 to 1997, 2000, 2004, and 2009).

On four occasions both finalists were from Spain on four occasions (1994, 1998, 2002, and 2013). Rafael Nadal played in only one of those four all-Spanish finals.

The Spanish women have won four French Opens during the open era. Despite the increased popularity of tennis around the world, It seems like the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation has figured out a way to produce world-class tennis players. Hopefully, the leaders of the USTA Player Development Program have taken notice.

 

American Men and Women Have a Weak Showing at 2014 French Open

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Another Grand Slam event has passed and no American players were serious contenders for the title. What is the USTA Player Development Program doing?

Rafael Nadal won another French Open. Rafa has now won nine French titles.  Since the first tournament in 1891, Americans have won the event a total of 11 times. Four of those victories have come during the open era.

On the women’s side Maria Sharapova captured her second French Open. She defeated 20-year old Simona Halep in a knockdown-dragout match that lasted for more than three hours.

With the exception of John Isner and Sloane Stephens, the American players had a lackluster performance. After Isner, the highest ranking American male was ranked 64th.

In the men’s draw Bradley Klahn (71), Michael Russell (98), and Robby Ginepri (279) lost in the first round.

Sam Querrey (67) and Steve Johnson (64) won their first round matches, but lost in the second round.

Donald Young (79) and Jack Sock (75) won two rounds before bowing out in the third round.

John Isner (11), seeded 10th, held his seed by winning three matches before being defeated in the round of 16.

Overall, the American men won 9 matches and lost 8.

On the women’s side, tennis enthusiasts got a sneak peak of American tennis without the Williams sisters. Fans anticipated seeing the players face off in their third round; however, both Venus and Serena lost in the second round.

Only Taylor Townsend and Sloane Stephens advanced beyond the second round. Townsend won two matches before losing in the third round and Stephens won three before she was defeated in the fourth round.

In the last six Grand Slams she has reached the fourth round. In four of those tournaments she was the last American in the bracket. That sounds good, on paper, but….

The following American women fell in the first round: Grace Min, Lauren Davis, Christina McHale, Vania King, Shelby Rogers, Anna Tatishvili, and Madison Keys.

In addition to the Williams sisters, the second round losers included Varvara Lepchenko, Coco Vandeweghe, and Alison Riske.

At the moment Serena Williams is the only elite American male or female player. Although John Isner has been consistent, it is unlikely he will win a Grand Slam event.

Stephens has shown that she has the potential to play in the upper echelon. Time will tell whether there are too many players such as Simona Halep, Eugenie Bouchard, Belinda Bencic, and Garbine Maguruza, who will prevent her from being an elite player.

Another Grand Slam has passed and there is no evidence the USTA Player Development Program is having an impact on American tennis.

U.S. Men Continue to Disappoint in Grand Slams (Australian Open)

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Julius Caeser is credited with saying, “Veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered). Clearly Caeser was not in charge of the USTA Player Development program.

Of the 12 American players entered in the Australian Open 9 were first round losers (Ryan Harrison, Bradley Klahn, Tim Smyczek, Rhyne Williams, Wayne Odesnik, John Isner, Steve Johnson, and Michael Russell).

  • Jack Sock finished the tournament 1-1 and exited in the second round.
  • Donald Young and Sam Querrey won 2 matches before bowing out in the third round.

Overall the 12 men won 5 matches and lost 12.

Based on the performance of the U.S. men in this and previous Grand Slam events, it is clear the USTA needs someone with a Julius Caesar mindset to take charge of USTA Player Development.

Note:  In 2003 Roger Federer won his first Wimbledon. There have since been 43 Grand Slams Including that event and the most recent Australian Open. Only eight men have won titles during that period:

  • Roger Federer 17
  • Rafael Nadal 13
  • Novak Djokovic 6
  • Andy Murray 2
  • Stanislas Wawrinka 1
  • Juan Martin del Potro 1
  • Gaston Gaudio 1
  • Andy Roddick 1
  • Marat Safin 1

As an aside, Murray defeated Djokovic in the finals of both his Grand Slam victories, del Potro upset Federer in his only Grand Slam victory, and Wawrinka upset Nadal in the most recent Grand Slam. In other words, at least of the trio (Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic) have been in the finals of all but three Grand Slams since the 2003 Wimbledon tournament.

It is safe to say that Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have dominated the sport for the past decade.  Unfortunately, they are only part of the reason the U.S. continue to disappoint in Grand Slams. A major part of the problem is the USTA Player Development program.