The Cockiness Coefficient

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The Cockiness Coefficient

By Blair Henley

Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

(July 3, 2012)--What do all the American men who reached the third round or better at Wimbledon have in common?

The answer is simple: no pressure.

Before play began at the All England Club, world No. 10 John Isner was the American man to watch. John McEnroe picked Milos Raonic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Isner as the most likely men to upset one or more of the Big Four throughout the course of the tournament. Veteran commentator Cliff Drysdale announced he was “very high” on Isner, while Chris Evert said she felt the 27-year-old’s serve would be “scary” to watch on the grass.

Isner proceeded to wilt under those sky-high expectations, losing an embarrassing first round five-setter to a man from a veritable hotbed of grass court tennis – 73rd-ranked Alejandro Falla of Colombia.

"I'm trying not to feel the outside pressure,” he said after the match. “There are some good things expected of me, and I'm glad I'm in that position, but I'm just not performing right now.”

Meanwhile, No.12 Mardy Fish, No. 126 Brian Baker, No. 64 Sam Querrey, and even No. 25 Andy Roddick, performed better than anticipated. So is it possible that the pressure created by our haste to crown the next American superstar is actually crippling the chances of our sparse group of candidates?

Mardy Fish came out of nowhere during the summer of 2010, winning two titles and reaching the finals of two more. He followed that up with another outstanding summer streak in 2011, reaching a career high of No. 7 prior to last year’s U.S. Open. But Fish never seemed quite comfortable in the spotlight he effectively usurped from good friend, Andy Roddick. With that in mind, Fish couldn’t have asked for better circumstances coming into Wimbledon this year.

Thanks to an unimpressive 7-6 record in 2012 and a nearly three month layoff due to a serious heart issue, Fish was as anonymous as a world No. 12 can be coming into his first grass court tournament of the season. And based on his run to the round of 16, that’s clearly the way he likes it.

And if Fish was enjoying the benefits of low expectations, Brian Baker was experiencing the benefits of no expectations. The 27-year-old ex-college coach’s run to the fourth round at Wimbledon (in his first career appearance, no less) was about as likely as a member of the British monarchy starting the wave from the Royal Box.

The Nashville native faced three hip surgeries, an elbow surgery, and a sports hernia surgery from 2005 through 2008. At the beginning of 2012, he was ranked No.456. Seven months later, the name Brian Baker is synonymous with Cinderella.

And let’s talk about Californian Sam Querrey. Given that the 24-year-old often looks like he’d rather be laying poolside than in the throes of battle on the tennis court, I’ll admit I nearly choked on my lunch when I heard he lost his third round match to Marin Cilic in the second-longest match in Wimbledon history. He has struggled to regain his top-20 form after elbow surgery last year, but his ability (and willingness) to grind out a five-and-a-half hour marathon is a solid step in the right direction.

Then there’s Andy Roddick. Despite his recent win at Eastbourne, he has largely been written off as a contender on tour. The fact that we anticipated his third-round loss on grass to clay-court specialist David Ferrer is evidence of that. But Andy has something the other top Americans desperately need – a touch of cockiness.

The greatest champions have a supernatural ability to block out, or in some cases embrace, the off-court chatter. Think Connors, McEnroe, Agassi, and in chunks of his career, Roddick himself. As much as we could help our countrymen by keeping our expectations to ourselves, it’s the ability to thrive under pressure that creates legends.

I’m encouraged by the performance of the American men at Wimbledon. While I don’t think any of them have the intestinal fortitude to make a run at the top spot, they can hold us over until we find our next – slightly cocky – superstar.