What Happened To All The Good American Men’s Tennis Players
March 27, 2009 – 6:31 am by Jimmy Shapiro
I used to love to watch tennis as a kid. I used to go watch it live at the US Pro Indoor in Philadelphia every year. The best players in men’s tennis always included a few Americans. John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors were great personalities and even better tennis players. They were followed by Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, and the ever popular Andre Agassi. Now, the only good Americans are Andy Roddick and James Blake and I think they have a combined one Grand Slam between them.
Andre Agassi joined The Dan Patrick Show on Thursday to represent the charity Athletes for Hope. The most amazing thing to me about Agassi was how he kept making comebacks and reinventing himself as a player.
On if he misses playing tennis:
“I miss the feeling of hitting a good ball which I get to do every now and then, but don’t miss it all that much. I think it came with a pretty big price in my life and I’m pretty happy living without all the dramas.“
On the lack of recent success for American tennis players:
“It’s a very fair question you’re asking. We’ve seen our sport throughout decades go in real cycles as it relates to the top players. America is very spoiled as it pertains to the success we’ve had in tennis through the generations, but we’ve also seen it shift towards Spain at times, France at times, Sweden at times. I think other federations are having a bit more of a sophisticated approach towards nurturing their players. I think we are really pushing down that road now. I know Patrick McEnroe is taking on an important role in our USTA development program which is hopefully going to affect grassroots and get the rackets in more kids’ hands. We have a much greater pool to choose from here in America and should maximize that.”
Listen to Andre Agassi on The Dan Patrick Show
Tags: Andre Agassi, men's tennis, Tennis
