SHAKEDOWN DAY ( WAKE UP USTA DAY ) @ WIMBLEDON , NO AMERICAN’S LEFT IN DRAW EXCEPT FOR JUNIORS & LEGENDS. OH & SHARAPOVA TOO.

Written by: Staff on 1st July 2014

SHAKEDOWN DAY ( WAKE UP USTA DAY ) @ WIMBLEDON , NO AMERICAN'S LEFT IN DRAW EXCEPT FOR JUNIORS & LEGENDS. OH & SHARAPOVA TOO.

epa04286927 The courts are covered as rain interupts play during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 28 June 2014. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA |

Wimbledon passes on announcements with an aura of grandeur that often outstrips the issue itself. The second Tuesday though, brought about a communiqué that outlined a sad statistic, at least where US players are concerned. This is the first time since 1911 that no Americans remain in competition in either the women or men’s side of the draws. (As an aside, there weren’t any American women and only three men enrolled in that 1911 competition.)

John Isner was the last hope for the American men who haven’t had a winner in any major since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003. The last American woman was Madison Keys. She had a problem with a thigh muscle and pulled out on Monday after a rain-delayed match from Saturday. No Americans at all has been a regular theme at nearly every major that has recently been contended.

Americans weren’t scarce when The Championships began this year. That wasn’t an issue. There were 13 women and 10 men. The men have had no luck in climbing up the ATP rankings ladder. The highest of the US contingent was Isner. Now it makes no difference. They are all gone. Let’s hope they are all on their way back to their collective drawing boards. (The USTA should be headed back to revise its own plans of action. Their ability to get behind and support young players has fizzled and Patrick McEnroe who is the nabob in charge of that effort is likely wringing his hands trying to figure out how countries such as the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany and even Serbia have managed to have so many highly ranked players of either gender.)

Few suggestions have been offered. Just questions and then a few more questions, They are looking to find a way to locate young players and nurture their collective games to the individual’s benefit and the USTA’s as well. It may be that the USTA needs to examine what it is that they really, really want. (Of course, they will have to take the chance they will find out they really, really don’t know.)

For a long time, tennis has been an international sport and tennis fans of all ages have been able to embrace excellence with no national bias involved. Over the years many players have utilized training facilities in countries other than their homeland. Andy Murray spent time in Spain; so did Marat Safin and his sister Dinara Safina. The list could go on. But, could it be time to have a sport without national affiliations as a theme? That likely wouldn’t work. For the past several weeks it’s been World Cup fever. Rarely do after match interviews have much of a universal theme, but the non-tennis queries during futbol (soccer) championships are plentiful. Country pride is an indelible part of the world of competition.

A Russian who trained in the US is Maria Sharapova. She has been a universal crowd favorite since she leapt on the scene ten years ago. She won Wimbledon at the age of 17, but on Tuesday, she was simply outplayed by a determined German, Angelique Kerber. Sharapova didn’t play badly; she just couldn’t play better than Kerber. It was close, but Sharapova was on the down side of the scoring, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4. After the match, Sharapova spoke of her disappointment with the outcome. She seemed circumspect and ready to search out just what she could do to remedy the issues that caused her to lose.

It may not be that she can fix what “that” was, because Tuesday’s match was beyond her control. It actually seemed that Kerber had what it would take to come out a winner in her grasp throughout the match. Her grit and determination never flagged. (Sharapova was actually six match points behind and then was able to claw her way back, erasing them, all except the last one and then it was over.) It was exciting, and it was much more than a seesaw match. The crowd was genuinely thrilled with the effort of both women. It hasn’t been an every day occurrence where one is able to witness two well-matched players in competition in a thinking woman’s game. The outcome wasn’t decided until the very last ball was struck. Both women gave it everything they had.

Sharapova spoke openly after the match and said, “I did everything I could in the end to try to save those [points]. I did but I didn’t save the last one.” It may be the most difficult point to lose for any competitor. The finality of it all must have been numbing to Sharapova, who has worked through a variety of injuries to her shoulder over the past several years. She came into Wimbledon with a new Coupe des Suzanne Lenglen from her win at Roland Garros. There isn’t much that could dampen a win at a major, but this loss seemed devastating.

Now, there is only one former Grand Slam champ left in the women’s competition. The 2011 winner at Wimbledon was Petra Kvitova. She will face Lucie Safarova, another Czech, in a semifinal match that is next on the docket. In her quarterfinal match, Safarova defeated Russian, Ekaterina Makarova, 6-3, 6-1. Both of the Czech women have worked their way through the draw to secure a place in the semifinals where it might have been difficult to predict that they’d even be around now, when the first balls were struck on that first Monda.

The Safarova versus Makarova match had a bit of trivial history as an accompaniment. Both players are left-handed. It was the first quarterfinal since 1987 where two lefty women have faced off. It likely wasn’t on either of their minds during that match though. Safarova had an easy time of it, as the outcome wasn’t even close, 6-3, 6-1. The only sure thing with the next match is that there will be a Czech player moving on.

The other women’s quarterfinals will see the new and better than ever before, Canadian superwoman, Eugenie Bouchard who has been training with Nick Saviano in the US. She will face Angelique Kerber. (I predict a letdown for Kerber after the Sharapova win today, and the extraordinarily skilled Canadian woman will move into the semifinals.)

Simona Halep, the Romanian who faced off against Sharapova in the final at Roland Garros, will get a chance at Sabine Lisicki for the other slot. Either of those woman would be a good choice, but Halep would get my vote, because of her mere grit. She has proven that she is a force in women’s tennis. She rose to the ranking place of number three in the world not because others lost, but because she won. She, like Bouchard is at the top of her game.

Just because there are no Americans in the draws doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of good tennis in the offing. There will be winners and losers, but the pathway to land in the next slot of a major is one that offers the possibility of some really exciting tennis. Sharapova and the others are probably reminding themselves that “tomorrow is another day”. The remaining contestants are likely in the reminder stage on that one too. Tennis, anyone?

Editors note : A nabob is like a head honcho.

Topics: 10sballs, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, Angelique Kerber, Atp, Eugenie Bouchard, John Isner, Lucie Safarova, Madison Keys, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Sabine Lisicki, Simona Halep, Tennis, Tennis News, Wimbledon, Wta

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July 1, 2014 at 9:00 pm

SHAKEDOWN DAY ( WAKE UP USTA DAY ) @WIMBLEDON , NO AMERICAN’S LEFT IN DRAW EXCEPT FOR JUNIORS… – http://t.co/9Qm0LSQZgr #Wimbledon2014