Whisper it quietly but men’s tennis in the United States could be back on the rise at professional level.
You have to go all the way back to 2003 when Andy Roddick won the US Open to find a Grand Slam winner from the USA.
For a country steeped in history and one that prides themselves on producing top tennis stars, that is pretty embarrassing.
Peter Sampras and Andre Agassi were regular members of the winner’s circle but it’s been a barren few years for the stars and stripes.
Queen’s has clearly given the men’s players from the USA a chance of a reprieve this week.
Tommy Paul reached the quarter-finals earlier today, with Seb Korda, Brandon Nakashima and Taylor Fritz also still in the draw.
Paul has been quizzed on the court after his straight-sets win over Chilean star Alejandro Tabilo earlier today.
He’s made some intriguing claims about the American players – and reserved praise for one of his compatriots.
What Tommy Paul said about American tennis stars and Seb Korda
Paul will be the first to admit that his career hasn’t really been overly productive.
Okay, he’s earned over £7 million in prize money but he’s never gone beyond the fourth round in any Grand Slam, despite nine years on tour.
Paul has only won two career titles and he’s never been ranked inside the world’s top 10 players.
After coming through his match this afternoon, he’s had some praise for the American players – with Korda, in particular, winning some praise.
He said live on BBC: “It’s really cool. It wasn’t so fun for me last week. Korda played pretty good. He is playing awesome. He’s a grass court specialist at this point. It’s exciting and fun.”
USA star winning Grand Slam could still be some way off
It’s fair to say that the USA have some quality players but there is an issue when it comes to the top players claiming a Grand Slam title.
Taylor Fritz is the highest ranked player from the USA and he sits at number 12 in the world.
Paul is 13th with Ben Shelton in 14th and the issue there is that they’re all meeting world-class players at the early stages of tournaments.
As a result, they’re finding it trickier to profess in Grand Slam events and that could mean an extended wait for a big title winner.
Still, there is hope for the USA and tennis is still popular in the United States.
The likes of Fritz, Paul and Shelton all boast the shots and if Korda can stay fit for an extended period of time, he too could be dangerous.
With a number of players left in the main draw at Queen’s perhaps one of the American contingent can get their hands on the Wimbledon warm-up title this week.
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