Americans have traditionally dominated Wimbledon, but this year only the unheralded Mardy Fish has reached the singles quarter-finals, leading some to question whether US tennis is in decline. Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Pete Sampras, Venus and Serena Williams and Andre Agassi have stamped American authority over the championships over the past four decades.
In the 43 Open Era Wimbledons, Americans have won 26 women’s titles and 15 men’s, more than any other country. But with the Williams sisters falling in the fourth round this year and Andy Roddick, three times a beaten finalist, tumbling too, it is down to Fish to carry the Stars and Stripes alone. “It’s not what you set out to do,” said the 10th seed, who faces world number one Rafael Nadal in the last eight on Wednesday.
“It was bad luck for the Williams sisters to lose. Unfortunate. They’ll be back, I’m sure. “Being the highest ranked American on both sides comes with a pretty high responsibility. People are watching. You feel like people are watching more than before — especially with me.” Besides Fish, Roddick and the Williams sisters, the only other top 50 Americans in the draw were John Isner and 30th seed Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Fish, making his first foray beyond the third round, has avoided the United States repeating the humbling of 2006, the only time in the Open Era when no Americans reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Fish, who downed Tomas Berdych to set up his quarter-final meeting with Nadal, understands why American fans may struggle to understand the current plight of US tennis.
