I just looked at the draw for the Monte Carlo Masters Series event and was disappointed to see that only one American male (Sam Querrey) had the guts to make the trip over to Monte Carlo. I'm sure Andy Roddick and James Blake gave the ATP Tour some excuse to avoid being fined. I guess these guys have officially given up on trying to win clay court tournaments outside of the US.
I miss the old days when we had Jim Courier, Michael Chang, and Andre Agassi, three guys that could actually contend for titles on red clay. Neither Roddick nor Blake have ever advanced past the third round at the French Open. Courier, Chang, and Agassi have combined for 4 French Open titles and eight appearances in the final.
Why the drop-off? The biggest reason is that Courier, Chang, and Agassi were just simply better tennis players than Roddick and Blake. Also, Roddick and Blake aren't as patient as the other three.
Interesting Factoids:
* Many people probably don't realize this but Jim Courier is actually the last male tennis player to win the first two legs of the Grand Slam, back in 1992.
* Michael Chang was the youngest male Grand Slam winner ever - he was 17 when he won the French Open in 1989.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment