ShareThisThere was a period, from 1992 to 2000, when Americans -- well, Pete Sampas and Andre Agassi -- had a monopoly on the sport's marquee Grand Slam.
Sampras won Wimbledon seven times during that stretch and Agassi claimed the 1992 title.
In roughly the same era, Agassi captured four Australian Open and two U.S. Open titles and Jim Courier won two French Open titles and two Australian Opens.
Since those halcyon days, Americans have been relatively absent from the finals of majors. Andy Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open, his only Grand Slam title, and he reached the finals of Wimbleon in 2005 and the U.S. Open in 2006.
But since 2003, Roddick is the only American who has reached the final of a Grand Slam. The current U.S. drought -- 21 consecutive Grand Slams without a title -- is the longest since the late 1950s and early 1960s, when Americans went 30 straight without a title.
Sampras, the record-holder for Grand Slam titles with 14, says that U.S. tennis fans appreciate the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal rivalry, one of the greatest in tennis history. But the presence of an American routinely breaking through to challenge Federer, Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray at majors would re-energize the sport in this country.
"I think American fans really got behind tennis; throughout (the 2008 Wimbledon tournament) the ratings were high," Sampras said. "But it would help to have an American in the mix."
With Nadal and Federer dominating at the majors -- Federer has won five straight U.S. Opens, Nadal has won four straight French Opens and the two have combined for the past six Wimbledons -- it has made breaking through difficult for Roddick and James Blake.
"Andy and James are very, very good players," Sampras said. "They're not quite to that (Nadal-Federer-Djokovic-Murray) level. I think it would be a huge shot in the arm to the sport if you had an American in the top 3 winning a major (or) getting to the final of a major.
"Federer and Nadal have done a great job with their rivalry, but I'm not sure if it's going to transcend for years to come in this country. We need Andy, James or someone coming up, that can challenge these guys and be part of the rivalries."
While Roddick appears, at this age, to have the best shot at making another run at Grand Slam titles and occasionally toppling the Big Four players, Sampras said both Roddick and Blake remain threats. Blake is coming off the best three-year stretch of his career with two of those years ending in the Top 10.
Blake, however, has never advanced past the quarterfinal round of a major.
"I wouldn't count out James or Andy right now," Sampras said. "I still think they're in contention. They're sort of dark horses at the majors.
(Phil Stukenborg covers sports for The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn. Contact him at stukenborg(at)commercialappeal.com.)
