MASON, Ohio — American players at this week's Western & Southern Open expressed little concern over the absence of American men in the top 20 for the first time since the ATP rankings were started in 1973.
Mardy Fish, a 31-year-old who reached a career-high of No. 7 in 2011, said that his time to carry the burden had passed.
"I mean, we miss Andy, for sure," the 129th-ranked Fish said of Andy Roddick, who retired last year. "But, yeah, there's no doubt that some guys need to step up. I can't really speak too much on it just because I don't know. You know, I only look after myself, and I can't help that right now. I did as well as I could for a lot of years being in the sort of top 25-ish, and the last four years being inside the top 15 for the most part. I think you might want to ask them."
John Isner, who was the final American to fall out of the top 20 and now sits at No. 22 in this week's rankings, was particularly dismissive of the statistic.
"It doesn't mean anything to me," Isner said, adding: "I didn't even know I was going to play professional tennis until I was in college. I haven't really put too much pressure on me to be like the savior of American tennis and whatnot. I'm just trying to handle my business and play tennis for as long as I can. I'm having fun doing it. So I don't really think about it."
Sam Querrey, who also spent time in the top 20 this year but has slipped to No. 28, said the absence could possibly be brief and meaningless.
"John could get right back in there," he said. "Just one week. I mean, it happens. I don't think it's a big deal."
Querrey did not have any theories as to why it had not happened until now.
"I mean, we just didn't do well enough to get as many points to get up there," he said. "I don't really have a good reason."
Brian Baker, an injury-plagued 28-year-old who reached a career-high of No. 52 last year but has slipped to No. 185, said the mutterings about the state of American men's tennis were understandable.
"I think it's been pretty well documented that we don't have guys that are competing for slams right now," Baker said. "That's definitely a shock to the American people's system or the fans because we've had so many great Grand Slam winners in past generations. So I can understand the questions that keep coming up, but it's not like we're trying less hard to do well."
He added: "It's just one of those things where hopefully we get some guys coming up, and John, Sam right now can play really well at a Slam and try to quiet some of the critics. But it's understandable, with the success that we've had in the past."
Ryan Harrison, who was ranked inside the top 50 at this time last year but has dropped outside the top 100, said he could use the Americans' current standing as motivation.
"If I'm three and a half, four hours into a workout and somebody tells me that, then I'm going to get the last little 30 minutes done," Harrison said. "It's something that can fire you up."
The 17th-ranked Sloane Stephens, who along with No. 1 Serena Williams, is one of two American women in the WTA top 20, was surprised to hear of the men's rankings this week.
"Ever?" Stephens asked of the lack of a top-20 player. "Like, ever?"
Stephens then offered some consolation.
"Well, at least there's someone in the top 30?" she said. "I don't know. But I think they'll be fine. I mean, someone always has to like do the history thing, like it's Isner and Sam's fault that they broke the world record or whatever for not being in the top 20. Who cares?"
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Straight Sets: Absence of American Men in Top 20 Is Met With a Shrug
Dengan url
http://suporterfanatikos.blogspot.com/2013/08/straight-sets-absence-of-american-men.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Straight Sets: Absence of American Men in Top 20 Is Met With a Shrug
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Straight Sets: Absence of American Men in Top 20 Is Met With a Shrug
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar