Roddick most ready to rise
By Greg Garber
ESPN.com
NEW YORK -- So, Pete Sampras has formally retired at age 32. Michael Chang, 31, is playing in his final U.S. Open, thanks to a wild-card berth. Jim Courier, 33, is working here in a television booth. Andre Agassi, also 33, is ranked No. 1 in the world, but he is not the favorite to win.
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| Andy Roddick has shown the most potential in the next generation. |
Andy Roddick, who is five days short of his 21st birthday, is. He is the next great hope for American men's tennis.
"I was pretty lucky," Roddick said last week. "Pete and Andre were both playing when I kind of started to make my move, and Andre is still playing great tennis. So it's been kind of easier for me.
"Now I'm at the point where I feel like I am ready."
Sampras, Agassi, Courier and Chang -- who produced a collective 27 Grand Slam singles titles -- are considered the finest generation of American male tennis players. The argument can be made that they are history's best group of peers from any country.
"I think we're in good shape," Sampras said. "Roddick has taken it to a new level now, seems like. James Blake and Mardy Fish, guys are starting to catch on a little bit.
"To duplicate what Andre and I did, Jim and Michael, it's going to be tough. I mean, there's a lot of majors there."
No one is prepared to anoint the current crop of young Americans as the Next Big Thing -- they have yet to win a single Grand Slam title -- but they will comprise the U.S. Davis Cup for the next decade or so. Here is a short list of would-be successors to Sampras' throne. Only those under 25 years old made the cut, so relax all you Jan-Michael Gambill fans. He's ranked No. 50 in the world, but he also turned 26 in June.
Andy Roddick, 21, (ranked No. 4) -- Clearly, the heir apparent.
With Sampras gone, Agassi showing signs of age, Lleyton Hewitt struggling and Roger Federer still an unknown quantity in big moments outside of this year's Wimbledon, Roddick indeed looks ready. He reached the semifinals at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open and seems poised for a breakthrough.
He won back-to-back tennis Masters Series events in Montreal and Cincinnati earlier this month and is a ludicrous 29-2 since turning to Brad Gilbert for coaching advice. He has won 12 straight matches coming into the U.S. Open.
Has a big forehand and, with all due respect to Greg Rusedski and Mark Philippoussis, the biggest serve on the planet. Killer instinct seems to be developing nicely.
Roddick, seeded No. 4 here, plays Tim Henman in the first round -- the only opponent to beat him during the U.S. summer hard-court season. With some luck, he could win a handful of Slams.
Mardy Fish, 21, (No. 26) -- Fish reached the final at Cincinnati, where he lost to Roddick -- despite owning two match points.
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| Fish |
It was a career-best result for Fish, who had to beat Wimbledon 2003 finalist Philippoussis, Wimbledon 2002 finalist David Nalbandian and 2003 Australian Open finalist Rainer Schuettler to get there.
Fish is a throwback in a sense; he can actually volley and often comes to net. He's reached three ATP finals -- Delray Beach and Nottingham were the others -- and is starting to show the kind of consistency that Roddick displayed a year ago.
The No. 24 seed here, Fish dismantled Joachim Johansson 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in Monday's first-round match.
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| Blake |
James Blake, 23, (No. 35) -- Already a Davis Cup regular, Blake won last year's Washington tournament, defeating Andre Agassi in the semifinals and Paradorn Srichaphan in the final.
Blake is unseeded here this year, after earning the No. 25 seed a year ago. He's got a tough draw in the first round: Argentina's Mariano Zabaleta, the No. 27 seed. Blake has always been a relatively late bloomer, so it's hard to know if he's plateaued or if there is more room for improvement.
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| Ginepri |
Robby Ginepri, 20, (No. 40) -- Like Roddick, who goes out with singer/actress Mandy Moore, Ginepri has a high-profile girlfriend, actress Minnie Driver and a high-octane game.
Ginepri lost in the first round here a year ago to a guy named Agassi; his first-round opponent this year is a little more reasonable, David Ferrer.
Like Fish, Ginepri is playing well entering the Open. He made the quarterfinals at Indianapolis and Cincinnati, losing to credible players, Sjeng Schalken and Schuettler.
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| Dent |
Taylor Dent, 22, (No. 73) -- Dent had his best season ever last year, winning 20 of 37 matches. This is relevant because there hasn't been much to go on this year.
Dent did not defend his 2002 Newport title because of a pinched nerve in his right hand and hasn't played since. Earlier in the year, he defeated Roddick in the final at Memphis and reached the semifinals at Scottsdale. He met qualifier Robin Soderling in the first round.
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| Vahaly |
Vahaly won his first-round match at Wimbledon and reached the semifinals at Memphis and the quarters at Indian Wells and Adelaide.
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| Bogomolov |
Alex Bogomolov, 22, (No. 117) -- This is only Bogomolov's sixth tour-level event this year. He reached the Round of 16 at Indianapolis, losing to Srichaphan.
Bogomolov met No. 16 seed Martin Verkerk, the 2003 French Open finalist, in the first round.
Greg Garber is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
