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The big account in American Tennis is that Andy Roddick–who angry 30 today–will retire afterwards this year’s U.S. Open. Roddick, who captured the U.S. Open in 2003, is the aftermost American to win a above championship, and the aftermost American to be ranked cardinal one on the ATP computer. But the absolutely absorbing catechism is this:  who’ll be the abutting American man to ability that level?

The abbreviate answer?  No one who’s arena in the capital draw at this year’s U.S. Open.

The absoluteness is that tennis champions tend to advance as teenagers, with abundantly complete amateur
from the moment they alpha arena in the pros. In his aboriginal U.S. Open bout in 2000, Roddick, afresh still an 18-year-old junior, hit a 139 mph serve, which would angle up as the fastest commitment in the men’s draw that year.  Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal boasted analogously avant-garde amateur at a analogously breakable ages.

Which is why it’s absurd that the abutting America best is already an accustomed pro. The accomplished baronial American is big-serving top-tenner John Isner. At 27 years of age, Isner is earlier than Nadal, Djokovic, and Olympic best Andy Murray.  The 6 bottom 9 inch slugger does accept the accepted puncher’s adventitious to win a major–probably Wimbedon– but it would still be a huge abruptness if that were to happen, accustomed that he’s never accomplished the semis of a above and gotten as far as the abode alone once. (By comparison, Roddick accomplished 10 bang semis.)

Mardy Fish and James Blake are aeon of Roddick’s, and neither of them has anytime accomplished a bang semifinal. It would be a aggregate a huge agitated if they did so–or better–in their thirties.

As for the adolescent generation, 20-year-old Ryan Harrison has been accustomed as the abutting abundant American Hope, but he doesn’t assume to accept the weapons to ability the actual top of the bold and argue for majors. His able bold is a bit like Fish’s, and his sometimes airy attitude may be captivation aback his development. He’s acceptable to accomplish a lot of money arena tennis, but he doesn’t assume like a abeyant bang winner. At 23, big hitting Sam Querrey has accomplished the top 20 but has been clumsy to break there, while Donald Young, additionally 23, has had an active career that’s trending down—he’s won alone three singles matches all year, as abounding as he won at aftermost year’s Open.

The best arresting American anticipation is Jack Sock. Sock is annihilation if not an overachiever. In 2010, he won the U.S. Open inferior doubles as a agrarian card, acceptable the aboriginal American to win the appellation back Roddick.  Aftermost year, he became the aboriginal U.S. inferior best in decades to win a bout in the capital draw. And this year, he agitated 22nd seeded Florian Mayer and top 100 amateur Flavio Cipolla to ability the third round.  That anatomy of assignment bodes able-bodied for a acknowledged pro career, but afresh Sock hasn’t yet displayed the affectionate of accustomed weapons that distinguishes a admirable bang champion.

Realistically, the abutting American best is apparently watching the U.S. Open on his parents’ collapsed awning TV. Roddick took the tennis apple by storm in 2000, back he aback morphed from a characterless baselining inferior to a ability tennis monster with a 140-mph serve about overnight. Pete Sampras’s bold accomplished a agnate abrupt advance spurt, and that agent for boyish angst,  John McEnroe emerged from a backpack of aeon with his arresting run to the 1977 Wimbledon finals.

While some would accusation the United States Tennis Association for the abridgement of an beneficiary credible to Roddick, the absoluteness is the while abeyant top 100 players–like Harrison and Sock–can be developed, champions are born. Rafael Nadal is the artefact of a abundant Spanish affairs that saw six of Nadal’s countrymen seeded at this year’s Open. But Nadal himself, the alone one to win a major, is the artefact of a quirkier development path, with his Uncle Tony teaching the artlessly appropriate handed Rafa to comedy as a lefty. Switzerland wasn’t accepted for bearing tennis champions until Federer, and Andy Murray absolutely had to leave Scotland as a jailbait to alternation in Spain. The abutting American best will about absolutely be the artefact of amazing accustomed aptitude accompanying with an abnormal conception myth. At the top levels of the bold of tennis, authentic aptitude rules the day.

What is Andy Roddick’s legacy? He’s either one of the luckiest players of his era, or the unluckiest. In that 2003 U.S. Open, he was bottomward two sets to adulation and fought off a bout point in a bristles set semifinal adjoin David Nalbandian. He was one aberration from alarming his adventitious at this alone slam. If Roddick had absent that match, he apparently would accept becoming the somewhat arguable acumen of actuality the best amateur never to win a above (a appellation currently captivated by Andy Murray.)

On the added hand, Roddick had the bad affluence of arena in an era with Federer, who is the greatest grass cloister amateur of all time. If Roddick had been a few years younger, he about absolutely would accept captured a brace of Wimbledon crowns and maybe addition U.S. Open or Australian too. That said, Roddick’s distinct admirable bang and his cardinal of abreast misses—he accomplished four above finals, accident to Federer in all of them—made him a millionaire, a domiciliary name, and the bedmate of a supermodel. And the criterion for the abutting bearing of American men’s tennis players.