Americans down in flames...again.

[Joe Oldschool]

It looks like I will be repeating myself for the rest of my life on this issue. The Americans (of which I am one btw) simply will not commit to playing in Europe in order to develop into multi-surface threats. It is as if no other place in the world exists but America. It's not entirely their fault however. It is simply a delusion born of the culture in which we are raised that extends far beyond the tennis world.

It's all hype all the time, while the results to back up said hype are only there if you consider North American hardcourt events. More young players from the U.S. need to cross the pond and spend some time in the off season and prior to RG. However, there are always excuses not to do it-- money--language barriers--America being the center of the universe etc.

The tour rankings at this point are lopsided severely. Seriously, how can Roddick claim his world ranking when he can't even boast of one serious top 20 win against a "claycourter"? Oooh la, he won an American clay court event once. Show me one real win on the terre battue. Can't. Doesn't have one.

It looks like Americans will forever discount the "claycourters" while ignoring the fact that they are all a bunch of "hardcourters".

See you next year with the same rant.

[Chanchai]

It generally annoys me too... similar to when I hear little kids reiterating their father's comments that the women's soccer is better than men's soccer

American media still uses the term dirtballer...

But yes... our culture only cares about results by americans. That's pretty much it. We recognize international player results if those players make stupidly entertaining statements or humor us though Someone we can pat on the head and say "good ol' boy... Go fetch!" They can have results if they entertain us by still allowing us to think we're smarter/better/etc...

Sort of taking an extreme there... but it is annoying. The bottom line is everything.... and in professional tennis in america, the bottom line is the ratings, not the results.

Only in America... Gotta love it... (actually, it's not just in america, but even for bad things--us americans like to think it's always just us )

-Chanchai

[Bob Murray]

Mr. Roddick lost on purpose to get in extra grasscourt practice so there.

[atatu]

Another reason to consider the Sampras/Agassi/Courier/Chang generation the best ever, three out of the four won the French...

[norcal]

Hey, at least the Americans enter the French (and win it sometimes too!) Every year at Wimby varioius claycourters don't enter 'cause they are mad about the unfair seedings (meaning they have no chance on a fast court so why not hang out at home instead).
Sure some claycourters do well on hard and indoor but for the most part they stick to clay most of the year. Americans do well on rubber, grass, hard, carpet, and usually are respectable on clay.
Euros play on clay because they have no public courts (no hard courts); tennis is 'club only' (rich only). I live within a 10 minute drive of 10 different parks with public courts.
Blah!

[coach]

It's not like there isn't clay in the US. Most serious tennis clubs have a few courts, but probably no public high schools or universities have a single one. So part of it is that they are there but not in abundance. Having said that, very few juniors (even those with rankings) get an opportunity to play on it with any kind of regularity and I would guess there are few to no tournaments on clay for them. Economics of court constuction and maintainence is probably a factor in this. Until the USGA gets together with the teaching schools to expose more youth to clay, the US will always be a weak player on clay, with only an occasional Chang and Agassi to celebrate.

[SonicSpeed]

It's about time someone steps up. Somehow I dont' think it will be anytime soon.

[KFwinds]

Couple of things here;

First of all, BIG DEAL. Why is it so important that the Americans be good on clay? We all know that Roddick and Agassi will be a serious threat during the grass and hard court seasons.

Second, many of these "dirtballers" don't stand a chance at Wimbledon, and make excuses not to show up (we'll spare listing those excuses; we all know what they are).

For me, the French Open is the least interesting of all the Grand Slams to watch. For others it's their favorite. But I'm certainly not going to get bent out of shape about Agassi or Roddick or Sampras losing on clay. It's just not "our" surface. I look at it this way: it's the one chance every year for those European scrubs to shine. Let 'em have it.

[barry]

Disagree with KFwinds, Roger Federer is a pretty good dirtballer and plays well on all surfaces. Andy and Andre both have trouble with him on any surface.

We can see how weak American male tennis is with the results. Other than Andre and Roddick, rest are in mid 20's on all surfaces. Andy is losing ground, poor clay court season, did not do well at the Australian, just couple wins in all American tournaments.

[tetsuo10]

I personally don't like to see 4+ hours of nothing but topspin. Boring, boring, boring. I'd rather watch bowling.

Also, as I recall, Federer lost in the first round at FO the past two years.

[bravestennis]

how long do you think it will be till the next US American wins RG?

[Phil]

But yes... our culture only cares about results by americans. That's pretty much it.

Do you really think it's any different in other countries? Count your blessings that at least the American players are actually GOOD, and have generally been good for a long time. If you lived in Korea, all you'd hear about is a couple guys named Kim. If you lived in Japan, you would not see top ten mens players play FOR AS LONG AS Ai Sugiyama is still in the draw, SINGLES AND DOUBLES. Really-I'm not kidding. Fortunately, she usually exits grand slam singles in the second round or so.

When I was visiting Chile a few years ago, all I heard of-and this was during Monte Carlo-was Rios, Rios, Rios-and his matches were shown, repeatedly, on TV. And "Henmania" to a non-Brit, seems absolutely absurd. Every country is proud of their own, and the TV networks understand this. It's human nature. Personally, I could watch Federer play in every tournament, and if I only saw Roddick play once a year, I wouldn't complain-nothing against Roddick; I just find Federer's all court abilities a pretty phenomenal once-in-a-generation type of thing. But I, and we are not typical "fans". Most fans are fair weather types.

[chad shaver]

Originally Posted by bravestennis

how long do you think it will be till the next US American wins RG?

Sincerely not trying to be a smarta**, I would probably say not as long as it will be till a Brit wins Wimbledon. Now watch Henman win this year . I wouldn't complain about that, though. Maybe the British press would get off his case.

[alienhamster]

Mostly agree with Phil-- I don't think the "prefer our home surface and players" tendency is distinctly American at all. How many of the clay-court dudes shun both the grass and american hard courts in summer to play on clay as long as humanly possible? (Including Coria last year). That being said, I do wish players would commit more to getting better on surfaces they don't feel comfortable on.

Barry--what are you talking about re: Roddick? He did excellent at the Aussie, basically steamrolled his opponents until he lost a *close* 5-setter to Safin in the Quarters. And, technically speaking, I think he had a better year on clay this year than last (if you can believe that).

[Chanchai]

Phil,

It's a good point to re-emphasize. I didn't emphasize that enough in my closing statement to my original post that you cited.... Which I'll repeat here:

Only in America... Gotta love it... (actually, it's not just in america, but even for bad things--us americans like to think it's always just us )

I intended for that statement to reflect the whole thing I wrote in there. But again, it's good to re-emphasize... Wouldn't want to over romanticize the coverage we don't get at home (ie. the coverage elsewhere). But the grass is always greener, and we're always demanding for better things... heck, the last couple months I was just waiting/dying for Tennis coverage period.

-Chanchai

[KFwinds]

barry, I don't recall mentioning anything about Federer in my post - and while he is certainly a threat on any surface, I wouldn't include him in my list of "dirtballers".

[yee]

Originally Posted by KFwinds

But I'm certainly not going to get bent out of shape about Agassi or Roddick or Sampras losing on clay. It's just not "our" surface. I look at it this way: it's the one chance every year for those European scrubs to shine. Let 'em have it.

I think a very important point you overlooked is that Andy is in contention of no.1 sport with Federer currently, and many predict for the next few years, throwing in Fererro, Coria, Safin, Nalbandian. Fererro, Nalbandian, had all shown their capibilities to play in all surfaces too. So did Safin and Coria in hard court, perharps not in grass. But unlike grass, there're 3 TMC and a slam on clay each season.

We know Federer's going to be a threat in all surfaces, and he will be. Andy is definitely going to have to step up on clay if he's serious about grabbing the no.1 spot from him. In fact if he doesn't, his no.2 spot might be in danger too.