American men's tennis has a storied history, with legends like Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, and John McEnroe dominating the sport. However, in recent years, the landscape of American men's tennis has shifted, and not for the better.
What has led to the decline?
There are several factors that have contributed to the poor present of American men's tennis. One major factor is the lack of top-tier talent and commitment coming up through the ranks. While there are still talented American players on the circuit, none have been able to reach the same level of success as their predecessors.
Is there hope for the future?
Despite the current state of American men's tennis, there is always hope for a resurgence. While Jack Sock and John Isner were never able to make their push in the Singles category, it is hard to imagine that the current crop of talent will be able to. Let's take a deeper look into the current talent pool.
Tommy Paul
Tommy might be the most well-round of the bunch. However, he has never really been able to maintain his high level for the duration of an entire tournament. His speed and ground strokes are most definitely a weapon. With a play style similar to Djokovic, he has the game to make a deep run. The knock on Tommy has always been his inability to maintain focus for extended periods of play.
Taylor Fritz
Taylor is a rollercoaster, he has some wins that make you believe he can be a regular in the top 10, and he has other days where he looks like he doesn't belong on the tour. The great players on tour are able to win when they don't have their A game, this is simply not the case for Taylor, at least not yet. Taylor has every weapon and ounce of skill to compete with the best in the world, let's see if he will be able to improve his shot selection and mental capacity in order to do so.
Reilly Opelka
Serve bot. However, Reilly is no where close to challenging for the later stages in tournaments. With tons of injuries and a limited game style; I wouldn't bet the future of American men’s tennis on Reilly. Seems like a cool dude though.
Frances Tiafoe
Freakishly talented but needs to improve the backhand side. Frances' skill level might be his greatest weapon but also his biggest impediment. While very much a showman, Frances is yet to come close to reaching his full potential. When the going gets tough for Tiafoe, he seems to crumble more often than rise.
Sebastian Korda
Seb is my pick for the American with the most upside. He has a well-rounded game; serve, ground strokes and volleys. Seb also runs very steady on the court, never too high and never too low, a true professional. If there is one player that has the best chance at a grand slam in the coming years, I'm placing my bets on SK.
What can be done to improve?
The future of American men's tennis may seem bleak at the moment, it seems as though their European counterparts are hungrier and more committed to their craft than many of the young American players. The American men have to improve in their shot selection and their competitiveness. It just seems like it isn't clicking yet. With the U.S. Open around the corner, it will be a very interesting time to see how they play, how the crowd reacts to them, and most importantly, what Jonny Mac thinks of the future of American Men’s tennis.
I wouldn't hate seeing Jonny Mac and some other American tennis legends help out on the coaching side of things, it very well could be the difference. The American Men need to be shaken, as they enter their mid 20s, the time to start winning is now!