American Tennis On An Upswing

Written by: Hayley Hranicky-Galitzer on 28th July 2010

American Tennis On An Upswing |

Who is the future of American tennis? That is the million-dollar question. Maybe it is not a matter of “who”, but “where,” and maybe one should not have to look farther than the Tuesday afternoon session at the Farmers Classic. Ryan Sweeting, Robby Ginepri, and James Blake, who are oddly enough ranked 119,118, and 117 respectively, gave the Los Angeles crowd and American tennis fans something to cheer about.

Sweeting came back from a set down to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. As it can be predicted from the score, the match was a rollercoaster ride. With Sweeting and his opponent, Kristof Vliegen, trading breaks and leads throughout, the match provided no particular rhythm. Both players played a very similar style, but it seemed that whoever was losing in the 3^rd set, played the style better. Odd. Both players chipped and charged, and chipped some more; both threw their racquets, yelled at themselves, and talked back to the umpire, wait that was just Vliegen.

Ginepri came out solid with a straight sets win over Ilija Bozoljac. The Serb fired service bombs that reached almost 140 miles per hour, and unloaded on groundstrokes, but it was just too bad that they only went in half of the time. The American’s percentage and smart play was able to placate the power of Bozoljac, and Ginepri was through to the second round after breaking once in each set.

Blake, who as of late has been on a downward tumble after being in the top 10 just two years ago, came out strong against Leonardo Mayer from Argentina. The crowd reminisced the days when Blake would provide that level of tennis week in and week out. After being sidelined this past clay court season with a knee injury, it is nice to see the American healthy and executing his style of play.

And it’s not a party until Serena Williams walks in. Straus Stadium witnessed the return of world number one to the court, but do not get your hopes up, Williams limped to her seat with a foot brace on; the future of the rest of the year is uncertain to all.

Back to the guys. So, these names, Sweeting, Ginepri, and Blake, they aren’t the “new” future of American tennis, but could they nevertheless be the future? Though these players raise their level of play while playing in the United States’ tournaments, they will have to provide consistency throughout the season to be considered the future.

Topics: Afternoon Session, American Tennis, Clay Court, Dollar Question, Foot Brace, Half Of The Time, Ilija Bozoljac, James Blake, Knee Injury, Kristof Vliegen, Miles Per Hour, Robby Ginepri, Rollercoaster Ride, Ryan Sweeting, Serena Williams, Straight Sets, Straus Stadium, Tennis Fans, Tuesday Afternoon, Upswing