Mardy Fish was the only U.S tennis player to make it to the quarterfinal round at Wimbledon in either the men's or women's draw, and ESPN's "OTL" on Tuesday examined the decline of American tennis. ESPN's Steve Bunin called the current climate a “massive fall for American men in tennis” from the days of Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe in the '80s and Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi in the '90s. USTA Player Development GM Patrick McEnroe said, “I get irritated when I hear about the decline of American tennis now. I think there’s some reality to it, which is probably why I get irritated.” IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy Founder Nick Bollettieri said the “lack of financial support in the school system, the parks” is a factor. Bollettieri: “What are the kids doing? They’re running to play baseball and basketball and football.” McEnroe: “We as a country fell behind a lot of the big European countries in the last 10, 15 years in the way we develop our young talent.” ESPN’s Brad Gilbert said the “best thing the USTA has done” is their Quick Start Tennis program. He noted the U.S. has “probably the greatest athletes in the world but most of them are playing” other sports (“OTL,” ESPN, 6/28). ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser said, “I’m not sure an American male tennis player will win a major in the next 10 years. That sounds hyperbolic, but is it really?” ESPN’s Michael Wilbon: “Look at American tennis on both sides, and particularly the women’s side. When Venus and Serena go -- you want to talk about how many years it’s going to be. Who’s on the horizon there? It could be a dozen years at least.” Kornheiser: “The truth of the matter is tennis is leaving this country like track did. It’s going to find its audience in Europe and Asia and we’re not going to have … these winners” (“PTI,” ESPN, 6/28).
NEED SOME STARS AND STRIPES: In DC, Liz Clarke noted the women’s quarterfinals were “without an American for only the third time since Grand Slam tournaments agreed to allow professionals” to compete alongside amateurs in ’68. Unless Venus and Serena Williams “reclaim a place among the top 10 and sustain it, the United States likely is in for a fallow period in women’s tennis.” ESPN’s Chris Evert said, “We’re not going to see any number-one players (apart from the Williams sisters) for another four or five years.” Clarke wrote, “For women’s tennis to capture the attention of American sports fans, it needs to produce the rivalries and personalities that mark men’s tennis. And without the Williams sisters in the mix, they are in short supply” (WASHINGTON POST, 6/28). Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova, who is from Russia but moved to the U.S. when she was seven years old, will play in the women’s finals Saturday, and SPORTING NEWS’ Greg Couch writes under the header, “Sharapova’s Revival Could Not Come At A Better Time.” Couch: “The sport needs her. It needs her persona, her ability to draw attention from casual sports fans” (SPORTING NEWS TODAY, 6/30).
