Ho hum! The Men’s bracket of the Australian Open was just another win by the Big Three.
In 2003 Roger Federer won Wimbledon and Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open, this was Federer’s first Grand Slam title and the last time an American man won a Grand Slam. Since then Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have won 9 of 10 Australian Opens, 8 of 9 French Opens, 10 of 10 Wimbledons, and 7 of 10 U.S. Opens – combined they have won 34 of the last 39 Grand Slams.
The performance by the American men and junior boys was (you fill in the blank).
Men’s Open
Overall the 8 American men were 6-8 at the Australian Open.
First Round
Ryan Harrison, Sam Querry, Brian Baker, Tim Smyczek, and Rajeev Ram won their first round matches.
Michael Russell, Steve Johnson, and Rhyne Williams lost in the first round.
Second Round
Sam Querry won his second round match.
Ryan Harrison, Brian Baker, Tim Smyczek, and Rajeev Ram lost their second round matches.
Third Round
Sam Querry lost his third round match.
The age and world ranking of the American men who participated in the Australian Open are listed below (source: Australian Open website).
- Sam Querry, 26, ranked 22.
- Brian Baker, 28, ranked 57.
- Ryan Harrison, 21, ranked 64.
- Michael Russell, 35, ranked 94.
- Tim Symczek, 26, ranked 125.
- Rajeev Ram, 29, ranked 130.
- Steve Johnson, 24, ranked 175.
- Rhyne Williams, 22, ranked 194.
There isn’t a club player in the United States who would love to play as well as these 8 players. Unfortunately, the top American men are not elite players.
Junior Boys
Overall the 3 junior boys were 1-3.
First Round
Mackenzie MacDonald won his match and Martin Redlicki and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski lost their matches.
Second Round
Mackenzie MacDonald lost his match.
The ITF rankings show there are 4 American junior boys ranked in the top 20 junior boys and 6 in the top 50. Kwiatkowski has the highest ranking at #14. MacDonald is ranked 17th and Redlicki is ranked 45th.
Over the past 25 years, the USTA has spent millions of dollars on player development. The results of this and other tournaments suggest that has been a (you fill in the blank) investment.