The last time no Americans reached the quarterfinals was at the All England Club in 1911, when no U.S. women and only three men were entered in the tournament. The last Grand Slam event when no Americans entered the final eight was the 1976 Australian Open. So basically it has been nearly a century since history repeats itself, no Americans will play in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. The American absence becomes more discomforting when you are reminded that the United States has won more Wimbledon singles titles by far than any other country, they have won 83. None of the nine American men that entered the draw this year even reached the fourth round, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick losing to Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, respectively. Fourteen U.S. women were entered, with defending champion and three-time winner Venus Williams upset Saturday by Jelena Jankovic of Serbia. Andre Agassi tried to pass the baton to Andy Roddick Saturday at Wimbledon, but Roddick dropped it, as the last American men exited the All England Club in third-round play. And even though Agassi was competing in his last Wimbledon, he failed to make the most of a 5-3 lead in the first-set tiebreak against world No. 2 Rafael Nadal, 4 losses in his final Wimbledon appearance. Not like anyone is amazed by the results. After all, the 36-year-old Agassi, who had tears in his eyes when he addressed the crowd after the match, has a bad back and to top it all he had to face 16 years younger Nadal, a great tennis player ranked 2nd; Williams hasn't played much this year because of injuries; and Roddick is going through his worst season in quite some time, failing to reach a single final. |
