Tag: French Open

American Men Have Lackluster Showing at French Open

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USTA General Manager of Player Development Martin Blackman has been on the job for about a year and the results of the French Open show that not much has changed in the win column for the American men.

The women and girls have had solid performances in the Grand Slams and the men and boys have not. When hired a year ago, Blackman made a realistic plea for fans to be patient. It particular he told fans not to set their expectations too high for the young American boys because they were young, they didn’t need additional pressure, and the transition from junior play to the pro tour was tougher than most people realize.

At the 2016 French Open there were 10 American men entered. First round losers included:
• Brian Baker
• Taylor Fritz
• Rajeev Ram
• Denis Kudla
• Steve Johnson
• Sam Querrey
• Donald Young

Bjorn Fratangelo lost in the second round and ended the tournament 1-1.
Jack Sock bowed out in the third round and finished the tourney 2-1.
John Isner lost in the 4th round and held his seed.

The performance of the American men at the 2016 French Open showed they are some of the top players in the world, but they are no match for the world’s elite players. Time will tell if the younger players such as Taylor Fritz can hang with the best in the world.

Overall the men were 6-10.

The performance of the 9 American boys was equally as dismal. First round losers were:
• Sam Riffice
• John McNally
• Vasil Kirkov
• Ulises Blanch
• Liam Caruana
• Jeffrey John Wolf.

Ulises Blanch finished the tournament 1-1 with a loss in the second round.

Both Nathan Ponwith and Gianni Ross posted 2-1 record, but they bowed out in the third round.

Overall, the American boys were 5-9.

The American men and boys have often struggled on the clay at the French Open.
Hopefully the grass courts at Wimbledon will be more to their suiting.

It’s Three in a Row for Serena

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The 2016 French Open was the third Grand Slam in a row where Serena Williams was upset in the finals by an unlikely competitor. This time her loss came at the hands of the rising Spanish star, Garbine Muguruza.

Even with the loss, Williams remains almost untouchable. So far this season she is 24-4 in 5 tournaments, bringing her career singles win-loss record to 761-127. This year Williams has won 1 tournament, lost in the finals of 3 tournaments and bowed out in the round of 16 in the other tournament. Impressive!

Serena Williams was one of 18 American women playing at the 2016 French Open.

First round losers for the Americans were:
• Samantha Crawford
• Sachia Vickery
• Lauren Davis
• Bethanie Mattek-Sands
• Madison Brengle
• Nicole Gibbs
• Varvara Lepchenko
• Christina McHale
• Alison Riske

The following American women were 1-1 and bowed out in the second round:
• Taylor Townsend
• Louisa Chirico
• Irina Falconi
• Coco Vandeweghe

Sloane Stephens held her #19 seed and exited in the third round with a 2-1 record.

Venus Williams, #9 seed, and Madison Keys, #15 seed, had solid tournaments finishing with 3 wins and 1 loss each. They bowed out in the round of 16.

Shelby Rogers had the best tournament of her career. She finished 4-1, while losing in the quarterfinals to Muguruza.

Overall the American women had a strong tournament with a combined total of 22 wins and 18 losses.

There is also good news with the American junior girls. Amazingly, they all won their first round matches.

In the second round, the following girls were defeated and finished with1-1 records:
• Maria Mataes
• Caty McNally
• Claire Liu
• Alexandra Sanford
• Morgan Coppoc

In the third round 4 girls lost and finished the tournament with 2-1 records:
• Usue Maltano Arconada
• Kayla Day
• Sofia Kenin
• Michaela Gordon
Kenin held her #10 seed by reaching the third round.

Amanda Anisimova held her number two seed and lost 7-5, 7-5 in the finals to the number 12 seed, Rebeka Masarova of Switzerland. Overall, the Americans girls posted a cumulative 18-10 record.

Wimbledon is right around the corner and hopefully there will be more good news for the American women and girls.

I am Serena Williams – What is Your Super Power?

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Given her performance at the 2015 French Open,  the perfect Christmas gift for Serena Williams is a t-shirt that says, “I am Serena Wiilams –  American tennis player. What is your super power?”

She was one of 17 women playing as an American at the 2015 French Open. The event had a lopsided draw for the American Women – 13 were in the upper half and 4 were in the bottom half.

First round losers for the Americans from the upper half of the draw included:
• Alexa Glatch
• Venus Williams
• Shelby Rogers
• Christina McHale
• Alison Riske
• Coco Vandeweghe
• Bethanie Mattek-Sands
• Taylor Townsend
• Varvara Lepchenko

All four of the women from the bottom half of the draw were eliminated in the first round.
• Louisa Chirico
• Nicole Gibbs
• Lauren Davis
• Madison Brengle

After the first round there were only four American women left in the draw and they were all in the upper half. Both Irina Falconi and Madison Keys were 2-1, winning their first two rounds before bowing out in the third round. Sloane Stephens was 3-1 before losing to Serena Williams in the fourth round.

Williams was not particularly dominant  as she captured her 20th Grand Slam (6 Australians, 3 French, 5 Wimbledons, and 6 U.S. Open Championships). She only won 2 of her 7 matches in straight sets.

Overall, the American women were 14-16.

After the first two Grand Slams in 2015, the scorecard reads – two wins for Serena Williams. Historically she has fared well in Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Is a calendar year Grand Slam in the cards for Serena? Will the other American women make a stronger showing at Wimbledon? The former is more likely than the latter.

Stay tuned, the Championships will begin on June 29 and run through July 12th.

American Juniors Dominate French Open

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In the online version of Tennis Briefs Bob Larson recently reported that Patrick McEnroe, former director of player development for USTA, said that he believes the current gang of teenagers is a good reason for optimism.  In other words, McEnroe expects to see American juniors dominate the Grand Slams in the not-to-distant future.

McEnroe was correct, at least as it pertains to the French Open Junior Championships.

Eight of the 64 boys were Americans – of which Tommy Paul and Harry Taylor Fritz met in the finals. Paul was the upset winner.

William Blumberg was ousted in the first round and Alex Rybakov, Ulises Blanch and Nathan Ponwith won their initial matches before losing in the second round.

The remaining four players won their matches in the round of 16. Reilly Opelka was defeated in the quarterfinals and Michael Mmoh was ousted in the semifinals. Three of the four semifinalists were Americans.

Overall the American boys were 21-7.

There were also eight American girls. The following four girls lost in the first round: Raveena Kingsley, Sofia Kenin, Francesca Dilorenzo, and Michaela Gordon. After winning her first match Usue Maltane Arconada was defeated in the second round.

Carolyn Dolehide won two matches before losing in the third round and Katherine Steward was defeated in the fourth round.

The last American girl standing was C.C. Bellis. She won four matches before bowing out in the semifinals.

Overall the American girls were 10-8.

Hats off to the American Juniors. Hopefully Patrick McEnroe is correct and we will see American juniors dominate the Grand Slams for many years to come.

Will the Americans Show up at the 2015 French Open?

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The 2015 French Open is right around the corner and the American men and women hope to erase their abysmal performance in 2014.

Last year Taylor Townsend and Sloane Stephens were the only American women to advance past the second round. Townsend lost in the third round and Stephens lost in the round of 16.

On the men’s side John Isner had the top performance last year. He held his seed by winning three matches before being defeated in the round of 16.

The expectations are low for the seven American men in the 2015 draw. Going into the tournament the following six American men were ranked in the top 100 on the ATP tour:
• 16 John Isner
• 37 Jack Sock
• 38 Sam Querrey
• 52 Donald Young
• 56 Steve Johnson
• 73 Tim Smyczek
Frances Tiafoe was not ranked in the top 100.

Isner is seeded 16th. He is a steady performer who usually holds his seed. With good fortune, he will hold his seed this year.

The outlook for the women is slightly brighter, if for no other reason than 17 American women are in the draw. Unfortunately, 13 of them are in the upper half.

The four players in the lower half will be fortunate to get past the second round (Chirico, Gibbs, Davis, and Brengle).

There are three American women seeded. As expected Serena Williams is first. Her sister, Venus, is seeded 15th, and Madison Keys is seeded 16th. The outlook for these seeds follows:
• Venus will play Sloane Stephens in the first round. That is an intriguing match-up.
• Keys has had a solid year; however, she is in a tough bracket. It is unlikely she will hold her seed.
• Because Serena is so dominant it will be hard to cheer against her to win the tournament, especially since she lost in the first round last year. Unfortunately, the upper half of the draw is clearly more loaded with talent than the lower half.

Going into the French Open the following 13 American women were ranked in the top 100:
• 1 Serena Williams
• 15 Venus Williams
• 16 Madison Keys
• 33 Coco Vandeweghe
• 34 Varvara Lepchenko
• 36 Madison Brengle
• 41 Sloane Stephens
• 46 Alison Riske
• 55 Christina McHale
• 64 Lauren Davis
• 80 Shelby Rogers
• 84 Irina Falconi
• 97 Nicole Gibbs
Alexa Glatch, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Taylor Townsend, and Louisa Chirico were not ranked in the top 100.

Best wishes to the Americans for a strong performance and some upsets at the 2015 French Open.

French Open Dominated by American Women During Open Era

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Right or wrong, the strength of tennis in a country is often measured by the performance of its singles players in Grand Slam events.

Based on this definition of success the U.S. women clearly dominated the French Open during the Open Era of tennis (since 1968). The American women won 14 French Open championships, led by Chris Evert with seven titles. Serena Williams and Martina Navratilova have both been champions on 2 occasions.

By country, the dominance during the Open Era is summarized as follows:
• 1968 -77 – American and Australian players dominated.
• 1978 – 87 – Chris Evert won seven of nine French Opens between 1974 and 1986. Martina Navratilova won the other two.
• 1988 – 97 – Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario dominated.
• 1998 – 07 – Justine Henin captured four titles; however, players from six countries were champions.
• 2008 – 14 – Russian players dominated during this period.

The dominance by the U.S. at the French Open ended with the retirement of Chris Evert. Since then:
• Steffi Graf has won 5 titles.
• Justine Henin has won 4 championships.
• Monica Seles and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario have each won 3 titles.
• Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams have both won twice.

Stay tuned for the 2015 French Open starting on May 24th.

Will Sharapova defend her title? Will Serena regain her form of 2013? Will the younger players such as Halep or Bouchard bring home the trophy in 2015?

Women French Open Winners During Open Era

French Open Dominated by Spain and Sweden During Open Era

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The strength of tennis in a country is often measured by the performance of its singles players in the Grand Slam events. Based on this definition of success the Spanish and Swedish Men clearly dominated the French Open during the Open Era (since 1968).

Overall, the Swedes won 9 titles and the Spanish men won fifteen. Combined, this is slightly more than half the total titles for the Open Era. The Swedes dominated from 1974 to 1988 and the Spaniards have been in charge since 1993.

A summary of the French Open winners during the Open Era is summarized below:
• 1968 -77 – No country dominated the scene during this period. Players from Australia, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden won two titles each.
• 1978 – 87 -The Swedes (Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander) controlled the scene.
• 1988 – 97 – Early in this period the American players won three titles. Players from Spain won two titles during the second half of this ten year period.
• 1998 – 07 – Players from Spain won six championships, including three by Rafael Nadal.
• 2008 – 14 – Nadal won six of seven titles during this period.

Stay tuned for the 2015 French Open starting on May 24th.

Does Nadal have enough left in the tank to win his tenth title? Will 2015 be the first year for Djokovic to win in Paris? Will the U.S. have anyone playing during the second week?

Men's French Open Winners by Country for Open Era

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.

Chirico and Townsend Lead American Juniors at French Open

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The results of the American juniors at the French Open paralleled their adult counterparts – the boys were subpar, while the girls had a solid performance.

The four boys posted a combined record of 3-4. Only Noah Rubin reached the third round.

The record of the American boys follows:

First round losers (0-1)

  • Luca Corenteli
  • Spencer Papa

Second round loser (1-1)

  • Stefan Kozlov

Third round loser (2-1)

  • Noah Rubin

The four girls fared better as Louisa Chirico lost in the semifinals.

First round loser (0-1)

  • Christina McKenzie

Second round loser (1-1)

  • Jamie Loeb

Third round loser

  • None

Quarterfinals loser

  • Taylor Townsend (3-1)

Semifinals loser

  • Louisa Chirico (4-1).

The performance of both the boys and girls at the French Open was better than the Australian Open.   Here’s to a strong performance at Wimbledon!

 

Serena Williams Leads Field of American Women in French Open

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For the first time in years, the American women made their presence known at the French Open. The 15 American women in the 2013 event  won a total of 23 matches, while losing 14. Serena Williams led the way by capturing her second title at Roland Garros.

On a positive note, 10 of the 15 players were born after 1989. In other words, there appears to be a group of talented players waiting in the wings to fill in when Serena Williams retires.

The record and birth year of the American Women follows.

First round losers (0-1)

  • Grace Min, 1994 Coco Vandeweghe
  • Christina McHale, 1992
  • Venus Williams, 1980
  • Coco Vandeweghe, 1991
  • Lauren Davis, 1993.

Second round losers (1-1)

  • Mallory Burdette, 1991
  • Madison Keys, 1995
  • Shelby Rogers, 1992
  • Vania King, 1989
  • Melanie Oudin, 1991

Third round losers (2-1)

  • Varvara Lepchenko, 1986

Fourth round losers (3-1)

  • Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 1985
  • Jamie Hampton, 1990
  • Sloane Stephens, 1993

Finals

  • Serena Williams, champion (7-0), 1981.

On to Wimbledon, where the U.S. women should make an even stronger showing.