Wimbledon champion probably ‘playing wide receiver on an NFL team' amid US men's grand slam drought

CNN

2 days ago

There was once a time when American men dominated the tennis world at Wimbledon.
The likes of Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Stan Smith and Arthur Ashe saw widespread success in the 70s and 80s, before Pete Sampras simply dominated the 90s at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
When Sampras won his final Wimbledon title in 2000, the realistic expectation was that it wouldn't be too long before another American man replicated the achievement. In reality, though, it would be the last title for a very long time.
It is now 25 years and counting since an American man has lifted the Wimbledon trophy above his head.
Since then, the competition has been hogged by arguably the greatest tennis players in history, with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray winning every title between 2003 and 2023.
Andy Roddick came closest to breaking the streak in 2009, but the American eventually lost a memorable five-set final against Federer. Big serving John Isner then reached the semifinals in 2018 before losing a marathon match against eventual runner-up Kevin Anderson.
No American man has really been able to get close since.
It's quite the statistic for one of the biggest countries on the planet, with such a deep history in the sport. It also stands in stark contrast to both the women's game and the doubles tournaments in which the US has continued to find success.
But tennis journalist Matt Futterman says he is not surprised by the lack of success in the men's ranks, given the quality they've had to compete against over the last two decades.
'It doesn't surprise me because those handful of guys have just been so much better than everybody else,' Futterman, who works for The Athletic, told CNN Sports ahead of this year's Wimbledon.
'It's just this era, you have to be a unicorn to win a grand slam title these days. If you had asked me 25 years ago, 'Would it be 25 years before another American man won Wimbledon?' I would have said that's crazy, but the way it's gone down, it doesn't surprise me all that much.'
Now, as players start another Wimbledon campaign, the landscape of men's tennis looks very different.
Murray, Federer and Nadal have all since retired and Djokovic has shown signs that his powers may be on the decline.
In their absence, Italian Jannik Sinner and Spain's Carlos Alcaraz have stepped up to fill the void, kicking off what looks to be an exciting rivalry for the future.
Already, though, the duo appears to be head and shoulders above the best US men's players who haven't jumped off like many hoped they would have.
World No. 5 Taylor Fritz is currently the highest ranked men's player from the US, with Ben Shelton ranked No. 10. Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul both currently sit just outside the Top 10 but none of the above have ever won a grand slam title.
In fact, no American man has claimed a singles major honor across any of the four grand slams since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003.
Wimbledon, being played on grass, also poses another problem for some of the current crop.
Tiafoe and Shelton, for example, have never made it past the fourth round. Paul, meanwhile, reached the quarterfinals last year and Fritz has reached the same round twice.
Fritz, in particular, perhaps should have done better with both of his opportunities in 2022 and 2024, and recently said he feels Wimbledon is his best chance at a grand slam title.
His recent performances on grass this season go some way to backing up his claim.
'This is a huge week for me with the recent results on grass so I was thinking about that during this match,' he said after winning his first round match Tuesday.
'I really didn't want to go out in the first round.'
Unless something miraculous happens this year, though, the 25-year streak looks set to continue with Alcaraz the stand out favorite for the men's title, despite a tough five-set test in the first round in the form of Fabio Fognini.
The Spaniard is coming off the back of victory at Roland Garros and at Queen's Club and his game is arguably best suited to the grass court game.
'I don't think any of them (US men's players) have more than a 2% chance of winning the tournament,' Futterman said.
'They would all have to play a level that they've just never shown before.'
The question, then, naturally turns to why the US hasn't yet been able to develop a men's player capable of competing for a Wimbledon title in recent years.
The answer, in truth, is multifaceted.
First, modern day tennis is now played by hundreds of nations around the world, with facilities more readily available for upcoming stars no matter where they were born – many top international players, for example, train in the United States from an early age.
In the past, tennis was a more closed shop, allowing the likes of the US to dominate for so long.
For Futterman, there is also the fact that men's tennis in the US has to compete with so many other sports.
'There's probably a men's grand slam champion playing wide receiver on an NFL team right now,' he says, metaphorically.
'You know, Steph Curry is probably a grand slam champion. LeBron James probably would have been a grand slam champion. If you put a racket in those guys' hands when they were five years old, you never know.
'There's a lot of sports in America that take great athletes off the tennis court.'
After 25 years without success, every man representing the US at Wimbledon this year will hope they can be the one who snaps the unwanted record.
While Futterman says there isn't a huge amount of pressure back home – with the nation content with how well the women's players like Serena Williams, Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff and Madison Keys have done in recent years – the men believe now is the time to get back on top.
'I mean, we've been peaking. It's just a matter of doing it,' Tiafoe told reporters after his first round win on Monday.
'Me and Taylor (Fritz), we played in the semis of a slam last year. Ben (Shelton) made semis of slams. Tommy (Paul) has made semis of slams. Fritz made a final I think. It's just a matter of getting it done.
'I really feel like if we continue to put ourselves in those positions, we're going to get it done. I really feel like I can. It's a matter of putting it together.
'But I think we're definitely peaking. I think now it's just about trying to finish.'
This year's tournament has got off to a good start for the US men. Tiafoe made light work of his first round opponent, beating Elmer Møller in straight sets on Monday.
Paul then followed suit on Tuesday, breezing past British hope Johannus Monday without dropping a set.
Meanwhile, Fritz came through a brutal five-set thriller against Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, in a game that spanned two days. The match was suspended by organizers on Monday due to the tournament's strict nighttime curfew, with the deciding set being played out Tuesday.
Fritz survived Perricard's incredible serve – the Frenchman recorded Wimbledon's fastest ever on Monday (153 mph or 246 kph) – to book his place in the next round.
Elsewhere, Shelton faced a resilient Alex Bolt in his first round match on Tuesday, with the American winning in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(1), 7-6(4).