ESPN Peter Bodo Blog

Some people will tell you that you have to hit rock bottom before you can start climbing back to the top, and while it's unlikely that the U.S. can ever again enjoy the kind of dominion it once held over men's pro tennis, we certainly seem to have hit rock bottom. No American male has won a Grand Slam title since Andy Roddick bagged the U.S. Open in 2003. This six-plus-year stretch is the longest Grand Slam dry spell in U.S. men's tennis history.

This past week, I spoke at some length with two of the youngsters who might play a role in turning around the U.S. men's game, although it's too early to tell how it will all work out. The only thing I can say with any certainty is that Ryan Harrison, 17, and Devin Britton, 18, are promising prospects (as are Alex Domijan and Chase Buchanan).

Harrison and Britton both have appealing and potentially effective games anchored by big serves and the kind of all-around versatility that Roger Federer has established as the next frontier in the men's game. Federer demonstrated in recent years that the players of the future might have to do a little more than bang the ball, hard, from side to side, in a contest to determine, among other things, which player can stay awake the longest.

The two American kids not only can serve and volley, they actually enjoy it. In fact, Britton sounded almost defiant when he told me, "I know people think that attacking game is dead, but that may be only because nobody is choosing to play that way. Besides, I want to stick with it because it's the way I like to play."

It's always a good sign when a young player has a strong natural inclination; a game built on blueprint can be successful, but the greatest talents, whether they're baseliners like Rafael Nadal, or all-out attacking players, a la former two-time U.S. Open champ Pat Rafter, often seem to crave and create a distinct style that's both similar to -- and different from -- that of their peers.

Britton still needs plenty of finishing -- he recently took the advice of the USTA Player Development honchos (Pat McEnroe, Jose Higueras and Jay Berger) who are overseeing his training and traveled to Spain, where he's training and trying to grind out some wins on the Futures circuit.

Harrison, although slightly younger, is already making inroads on the pro circuit. He, too, has many tools in his kit. He likes to serve and volley but concedes, "I feel comfortable doing whatever it takes to win a match, even if it means straight baseline play."

After suffering a painful if educational loss to Turkey's Marsel Ilhan in the U.S. Open qualifying, 7-5 in the third (a win that enabled Ilhan to win two rounds in the main event), Harrison fired out into the minor leagues in a confident, bellicose mood. A few weeks ago, he made the finals in one Futures event (Costa Mesa) and won another (Laguna). He proceeded to jump up one tournament grade to a Challenger event in Sacramento, where he beat the No. 8 seed and is still alive in the draw as I write this.

Harrison decided to forgo junior tennis, even though his best result in boys' Grand Slam events was a semifinal at the Australian Open juniors in 2008. He suffered a stress fracture in his back late last year and decided it was time to take the plunge into the pros when he returned to training this past spring. "It's been my aspiration all my life," he told me, "So why put it off?"

Harrison's results suggest it was not a misplaced or mistimed ambition. He should crack the world top 400 by the end of this week. That's still a long way from the ATP main tour level, but the outlook is promising for two Americans swimming upward toward the surface of the pro game.