By: Dennis Bray Photo Credit: Natasha Peterson/Corleve
(August 31,2011) A few things you might’ve heard in recent years: Americans just don’t have the work ethic. Americans just don’t know how to raise young tennis talent.
Americans just do it all wrong. Well, it looks to me like America just did things right. Young 19 year-old American prodigy Christina McHale has been causing all kinds of problems for seeds in the early rounds of tournaments and she continued her march by dismantling eighth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France 7-6(2), 6-2 in just under two hours in the second round of the U.S. Open.
Young American Irina Falconi took down 14th seeded Dominika Cibulkova 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 to add to the success on the day for American tennis.
As we dive into every reason as to why American tennis has been on the rise in recent times, let’s start by commending McHale on her outstanding summer and quick rise to fame.
At the beginning of the year she was ranked No.109 in the world and was showing glimmers of hope, until she bowed out of the Australian Open in the first round to Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain in three sets.
Two months later is when she decided to throw American tennis on her back and start the climb up a seemingly too steep hill. At Indian Wells she won at the time, the biggest match of her career, taking down 11th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in a couple of tiebreakers.
She would go on to lose to Nadia Petrova of Russia in the next round in three sets, but a statement was made. The hard court season began and so did Christina McHale’s rise.
In Charleston, the unseeded teenager cruised by eighth seeded Alisa Kleybanova of Russia 6-1, 6-0. Next up was tenth seed Daniela Hantuchova, who she also dismissed 7-6(3), 6-1.
Yes, she was overwhelmed in the quarterfinals by Jelena Jankovic, but why must we forget about what she did in the previous rounds? Does an American teen have to go out and win grand slams for approval? Is competing with the top level players not enough?
We can’t forget that as Americans we have been spoiled for decades by elite tennis players. Dating back to the era when John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors dominated for years is when we decided as a nation that good just isn’t good enough. Followed by the likes of Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, and Pete Sampras, Americans have come accustomed to winners.
The Williams sisters reign is coming to an end and someone must fill the void, right? Another American who seems to have fallen from the ranks is Andy Roddick, who is having a disappointing season as well. We’re all hoping someone will rise up soon and take the torch, but maybe they already have and we’re just not taking notice.
Let’s not forget the case of Donald Young. Now 22 years old and finally turning a corner in his career, Young established himself as an American hope by becoming the youngest male to win a grand slam event, winning the Australian Open Junior Championships in 2005.
When asked how having the label as the next great player affected him, Young said “I think I got it when I was 15, 16. But, you know, at the time it's great, you know, people are really wanting you to win and they really want you to win. When it doesn't happen you're really disappointed, more so because you want to win yourself. Then you start thinking about what are people thinking when you're playing, you know, and that's definitely not the way to go about it.”
Young has risen to the occasion, having statement wins as of late. Young excelled at Indian Wells defeating then World No. 5 Andy Murray in straight sets.
Other notable wins this year were against 18th-ranked Jurgen Melzer and 26th ranked Marcos Baghdatis in Washington D.C.
So, no, we don’t have a Pete Sampras or a John McEnroe in the game right now, but we do have a Christina McHale, a Donald Young, and others that with a little time and a little less discouraging can be turned into the face of American tennis.
Next time you see a young American playing on T.V., don’t change the channel, don’t be frustrated when they’re down a set and a break; just cheer them on. Cheer them on like you did Pistol Pete when he was a young kid trying to make his mark on the game.
Perhaps Falconi put it best. After she beat Cibulkova, she said she believes there are new players on their way that fans can get excited about.
"I've heard so much about media talking about American tennis, and I really wanted to portray that there's a huge wave of American players," Falconi said.
"I strongly believe in all that is USA, and I wanted to represent it and show the world that it's coming. It's coming. No need to wait any longer."