Wimbledon 2013 began on Monday June 24, and by Thursday June 27, the 11 American men entrants had been dismissed.
First round losers and their birth years included:
- Steve Johnson 1989
- Ryan Harrison 1992
- Wayne Odesnik 1985
- James Blake 1979
- Sam Querrey 1987
- Alex Kuznetsov 1987
- Michael Russell 1978
These seven players captured 8 sets while losing 24.
The second round was even more depressing as the remaining four players won only 1 set. Second round losers and their birth years included:
- Bobby Reynolds 1982
- Denis Kudia 1992
- John Isner 1985
- Rajeev Ram 1984
These 11 American men are tremendous athletes – that is not the issue. Since its inception the USTA has spent millions of dollars on player development without producing any Grand Slam competitors or winners. A closer look at birth years of America’s top men players shows that most are in the same age range as the current top 10 in the world. In other words, they are closer to retirement than to winning a Grand Slam. Querrey and Isner are currently ranked in the top 25 (closer to 25 than 1), but they are not serious competitors for a Grand Slam title.
A look at the top 10 men players in the world and their birth years shows:
- Novak Djokovic 1987
- Andy Murray 1987
- Roger Federer 1981
- David Ferrer 1982
- Rafael Nadal 1986
- Tomas Berdych 1985
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 1985
- Juan Martin Del Potro 1988
- Richard Gasquet 1986
- Stanislas Wawrinka 1985.
Only Steve Johnson, Ryan Harrison, and Denis Kudia provide a glimmer of hope for the future. Looking further down the food chain, the top American juniors include Noah Rubin (third round loser at the French Open), Stefan Kozlov (second round loser at the French Open), and Spencer Papa and Luca Corentelli (first round losers at the French Open).
The future of American men’s tennis is very clear. The USTA Men’s Player Development has not been ready for prime time for a long time – if ever. That is not likely to change in the months ahead.