Djokovic demolishes Reynolds to leave USA without a single man in the third round draw (Submitted by Sports Journalist) FOR THE first time since 1912, the USA will not have a male representative in the third round of the men’s singles at Wimbledon. World No 1 Novak Djokovic made short work of dispatching the last American standing, Bobby Reynolds, under the Centre Court roof last night, and now the hopes of America lie firmly in the women’s draw. Perhaps we should not feel too much sympathy for our friends across the pond, however: Serena Williams is playing like she could compensate all on her own at the moment. The state of American men’s tennis is, though, a concern for a country that has produced Wimbledon champions such as John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. July 4 is traditionally celebrated at the All England Club with starred-and-striped cakes and parties among the travelling American fraternity, but this time all their countrymen have packed their bags before the end of June. Mardy Fish has only played one tournament since being diagnosed with a heart condition last summer, while three-time Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick retired last year. A left knee injury ended John Isner’s Wimbledon prematurely, while James Blake and Sam Querrey were among the 11 American men to make early exits. While there finally seems to be life after the Williams sisters on the women’s side, with the likes of Sloane Stephens, 20, and 18-year-old Madison Keys marked as future top-10 players, there appears to be a dearth of star talent among the American men. Former world No 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion Jim Courier, 42, said: ‘I don’t think it’s just this year, it’s something that has happened during the past 15 years. There’s no Andy Roddick and that has highlighted the issue. ‘I don’t think there is any one reason. You have to consider that tennis is maybe the tenth sport in the US and in other countries it’s maybe second or third. That has an impact. Also, it is a meritocracy. Just because you wear the stars and stripes doesn’t mean you are going to excel — and it truly is a global sport.’ Reynolds, a 30-year-old qualifier ranked No 156, looked rather stunned when asked to discuss the start of US tennis after his second-round exit last night. Thursday’s match was a bonus for the journeyman, after all, a player happy to marvel at the ‘history’ and ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ of playing the world No 1 on Centre Court. ‘There are a lot of young (American) guys ranked around 100 in the world but not as many top guys as in years past,’ he said. ‘Maybe there will just be a couple of down years and then we’ll come good again.’ Reynolds certainly tested Djokovic for the first set of this entertaining match, trying to keep the Serbian on his backhand and causing him initial problems with his strong and consistent serve. Djokovic, perhaps mindful of the number of shock results this week, began slowly and a little erratically, hitting wild groundstrokes long and wide and needing a tiebreak to take the first set. From then, however, the Serbian seemed to toy with his opponent, sending Reynolds left and right and then finishing off points with the softest of volleys. The third set was little more than a procession, with the Centre Court crowd getting behind the underdog only for Djokovic to rattle through in just 25 minutes. The Serbian has not had his serve broken at this year’s Wimbledon. It would be disrespectful to write off the rest of the men’s draw so early but, with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer out, there was a certain symmetry in the way Djokovic followed Andy Murray by progressing, serenely, into the third round yesterday. There were no slips or moments of high drama while Djokovic, the only former champion left, profited from getting his match out of the way under the roof while play was suspended for the day everywhere else. With more poor weather forecast today, surely this can only help the top two in the world reach the final a week on Sunday. Djokovic, 26, said: ‘I don’t think about that final. The fact that top players lost in the last few days gives enough reason for all of us not to underestimate any opponent. ‘It’s sport, this is what happens. We cannot forget all the other players who are taking part and I think this makes it more exciting.’ (Source: MailOnline)
Posted on: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 13:40:00 +0000
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