Posted by Peter Bodo, TENNIS.com
One of the most useful proverbs for tennis is the expression "A rising tide lifts all boats." It doesn't hurt the argument that it was one of the favorite sayings of a true titan of the game, the late Arthur Ashe.
Just think about it: Remember the Swedish invasion that followed very closely in the footsteps of Bjorn Borg? Circa 1970 B.B. (Before Bjorn), the Swedes had a colorful, rather eccentric history in tennis. When Borg became an international star, he inspired Mats Wilander -- along with a half-dozen suddenly-top-10 gunslingers -- to achieve.
How about the sudden emergence of Argentina as a tennis power, as Jose Luis Clerc and others followed the lead of Guillermo Vilas? Or the "Spanish Armada?" Or the "Russian Revolution?" Or the still more recent Serbian breakout? Great tennis, especially in a nation that has a modest tradition, is like the flu: highly contagious.
Nobody would accuse the U.S. of being an underperforming tennis nation, or a backwater on the world tennis map. There is no awakening-giant scenario, just the dormant-behemoth narrative. The American game has been stuck on the reef at low tide, no matter how much Andy Roddick, with periodic help from James Blake, has tried to push and pole the craft free.
But when youngsters John Isner, Sam Querrey, Bobby Reynolds, Robert Kendrick and Taylor Dent joined Roddick and Blake as survivors at the Sony Ericsson Open, it gave beleaguered U.S. fans reason to hope and long for more rising water.
These weren't career-defining wins, but they weren't chopped liver, either. Kendrick took out Robin Soderling, and Dent tagged Nicolas Almagro -- both seeded players in Miami. Reynolds got the best of Juan Ignacio Chela, Isner accounted for Sergiy Stakhovsky and Querrey handled Gilles Muller. These were good wins, victories each of the men might be able to build on.
Is there a rising tide lifting the American fleet? It's an appropriate question, given how slack the tide has been.
A career year by Roddick or Blake would certainly keep the water moving, but the key in this process -- the player who has the most potential to create so much needed momentum -- is Querrey. The lanky, laid-back Californian is the brightest prospect on the horizon for the U.S. But he's struggling to make his mark.
Querrey, just 21 years old, has made good progress given that (by his own declaration) he hasn't felt pressured or rushed to crack the elite ranks. Maybe it's my ingrained chauvinism, but I have a gut feeling this could be a breakout year for Querrey. He's tasted the nectar, taking a sip here and there. He's experienced, with a solid two-plus years on the tour. He's both well-positioned and now under just enough pressure to make a strong move, if his game and heart are up to it.
If Querrey can lift his game and get into the territory Roddick and Blake (despite his recent struggles) have consistently occupied, it might even rub off on his peers. The Isners and Reynolds of this world (and throw Ryan Sweeting and Jesse Levine into the mix) don't have to win majors or crack the semifinal code at Masters events to help move the ball forward, either. If they take a scalp now and then, it makes life easier for the top three or four American players.
That's an aspect of the rising tide that only seasoned seamen understand; it isn't just about winning, it's about what your wins and do for others, both in the big picture and on a day-to-day basis. Clearing the path for a buddy is the next best thing to being the guy who takes advantage of the new path. But for now, Andy and James must keep pushing and poling.
Peter Bodo
