American Juniors – Future Champions or Pretenders?

Taylor Fritz’s win in the 2015 U.S. Open Boys’ Juniors marked the third consecutive Grand Slam won by an American boy in 2015. The finals were a repeat of the French Open; however, Fritz defeated countryman Tommy Paul in their most recent matchup in the finals.

For the record, Russian Roman Safiullin won the Australian Open. Tommy Paul won the French Open, and Reilly Opelka captured the Wimbledon title.

Overall the 15 American boys had a 24-14 win-loss record in the U.S. Open.

American Boys 1st Round 0-1 2nd Round 1-1 3rd Round 2-1 Quarters 3-1 Semis 4-1 Finals 5-1/6-0
Taylor Fritz W
Ulses Blanch X
Alex Rybakov X
Vasil Krikov X
Patrick Krypson X
Ganni Ross X
Reilly Opelka X
Tommy Paul X
Nathan Ponwith X
Sam Riffice X
Eduardo Nava X
Alexandre Rotsaeart X
Jeff Wolf X
Michael Mmoh X
William Blumberg X
Total W-L 9-6 6-3 4-2 2-2 2-0 1-1

Overall the 19 American girls were impressive, but not quite as dominant as the boys. Their combined win-loss record was 19-19.

Sofia Kenin reached the finals before bowing out to Hungarian Dalma Galfi in the finals. This was the first time a Hungarian had won the U.S. Open – Girls Juniors.

In addition to having Kenin in the finals, Francesca DiLorenzio was defeated in the semifinals and Kylie McKenzie lost in the quarterfinals.

American Girls 1st Round 0-1 2nd Round 1-1 3rd Round 2-1 Quarters 3-1 Semis 4-1 Finals 5-1/6-0
Abigail Desiatnikov X
Alexa Graham X
Tornado Alicia Black X
Sofia Kenin X
Kelly Chen X
Kylie McKenzie X
Amanda Anisinova X
Natasha Subhash X
Claire Liu X
Hurricane Tyra Black X
Ravenna Kingsley X
Francesca DiLorenzo X
Michaela Gordon X
Kayla Day X
Usue Maitane Arconada X
Caty McNally X
Carson Branstine X
Ingrid Neel X
Alexsandra Sanford X
Total W-L 9-10 4-5 3-1 2-1 1-1 0-1

American tennis fans should be encouraged by the increased number of solid junior boys and girls and the success they enjoyed in 2015.

Will the current group of American juniors move on to be the next round of journeymen? Or, will some of them make the transition to the professional game and become the Grand Slam champions of the next decade?

Next stop, 2016!

Serena Still the Most Dominant Player in Women’s Tennis

Bummer! Serena Lost!

After being the most dominant player in women’s tennis for the past decade, it is disappointing that Serena Williams was not able to cap off 2015 with a calendar Grand Slam.

At the same time the fairy tale finish of Italian finalists Roberta Vinci and Flavia Pennetta gives hope to underdogs everywhere. They demonstrated that even against the most staggering odds, it is possible for unseeded and lower ranked players to win matches they are “supposed” to lose.

Day-in and day-out Serena Williams has been the player to beat at the U.S. Open since her first match there in 1998. Her win-loss record in the tourney is 84-10; she has won the championship six times, and has been the runner-up on two occasions.  Even though Serena has dominated the U.S. Open, she has raised the bar for how the sport should be played and she has made her competitors better players.

Overall, the American women were a force to be reckoned with. In addition to Serena’s strong showing her sister, Venus, reached the quarters while Madison Keys and Varvara Lepchenko were ousted in the 16s.

American Women 1st Rd 0-1 2nd Rd 1-1 3rd Rd 2-1 16s 3-1 Qrtrs 4-1 Semis 5-1 Finals
Serena Williams X
Bethanie Mattek-Sands X
Coco Vandeweghe X
Sloane Stephens X
Madison Keys X
Irina Falconi X
Samantha Crawford X
Venus Williams X
Madison Brengle X
Anna Tatishvili X
Lauren Davis X
Vania King X
Sofia Kenin X
Alison Riske X
Jessica Pegula X
Nicole Gibbs X
Louise Chirico X
Christina McHale X
Jamie Loeb X
Varvara Lepchenko X
Shelby Rogers X
Sachia Vickery X
TOTAL W-L 13-9 7-6 4-3 2-2 1-1 0-1

Combined, the 22 American women had a solid 27-22 win-loss record.

It is exciting to see promising Americans working their way through the ranks as top junior players. Over the next three months they will have a chance to hone their skills in China and neighboring countries in hopes that some day they can fill the void that will be left when the Williams sisters retire.

Next stop! Australian Open January 18, 2016

American Men at U.S. Open – When Will Insanity End?

“Insanity is doing something over and over and expecting different results.” – attributed to Albert Einstein.

Unfortunately, this saying applies to the USTA’s player development program, particularly on the men’s side.

Sixteen American men were entered in the 2015 U.S. Open. The group included a handful of up-and-coming juniors; however, the majority were the same American men who are excellent players who have had lackluster performances in the Grand Slams.

Those who exited the tournament after first round losses included:
• Tommy Paul
• Tim Smyczek
• Steve Johnson
• Ryan Shane
• Frances Tiafoe
• Ryan Harrison
• Bjorn Fratangelo
• Denis Kudla
• Sam Querrey
• Jared Donaldson

Second round losers included:
• Mardy Fish
• Jack Sock
• Rajeev Ram
• Austin Krajicek.

After two rounds only Donald Young and John Isner remained.

As a junior Donald Young was billed as the next Arthur Ashe. Unfortunately, he has never lived up to that billing, typically losing in the first round of most Grand Slams. This was his best showing in a Grand Slam since 2011. Young’s singles record at the U.S. Open has been 9-11.

Since 2010 John Isner has been a consistent performer, usually winning two or three matches before bowing out. Isner’s previous best at the U.S. Open came in 2011 when he reached the quarterfinals. Isner’s career record at the U.S. Open has been 21-9.

Young and Isner won their third round matches, but lost in the fourth round to Wawrinka and Federer, respectively.

To put things in perspective, Roger Federer has been 85-10 at the 2015 U.S. Open, prior to this year’s event.

Overall, the 16 American men won 10 matches and lost 16 at this year’s event.Insanity USTA Player Development

On a positive note, the American juniors have dominated play in the U.S. Juniors Open; however, the new general manager of USTA Player Development, Martin Blackman, has been quick to temper expectations for the juniors.

The bottom line … It is tough to develop strong juniors. It is even more difficult to train strong juniors who can make the transition to the professional game and compete and win Grand Slam events.

We’ll see if the latest change by the USTA puts an end to the insanity known as USTA Player Development.