For a generation of American tennis fans brought up on the panache of Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, the grit of Jim Courier, the class of Pete Sampras and the exuberance of Andre Agassi, these times seem like the nadir: not one American men's player in the top 10 for the first time in 37 years.
Andy Roddick, suffering in recent months from the mononucleosis virus, a mild case of glandular fever, has slipped to No 13 in the rankings issued yesterday, while there were only two other Americans in the top 25: John Isner, winner of the longest match in professional tennis history, at No 19 and Sam Querrey at No 21.
Three more Americans figure in the top 100: Mardy Fish at No 36, Michael Russell at No 79 and Taylor Dent at No 83.
Given these rankings, tennis pundits in the United States have been lamenting the future of men's tennis in the country.
Roddick was the last American to win a grand slam, at the US Open in 2003 when he briefly claimed the No 1 spot in world rankings.
Since then, 27 grand slams have passed without an American triumph and this has been the second-longest drought in their history. And it is hard to see that barren run coming to an end any time soon.
Since defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero for his only grand slam title, Roddick has reached the finals at four others, but lost to Roger Federer on every occasion - three times at Wimbledon and once at the US Open. His career record against the Swiss stands at 2-19; against Rafael Nadal it is 3-5 and 3-6 against Andy Murray.
Justin Gimelstob, a former player who has become a media pundit, however, insists things are not as bad as they seem, pointing to the number of singles titles won by Americans this season: nine, which is second only to the 16 wins by Spanish players.
Querrey has won four tournaments this season, which is second most after Nadal's five.
"I prefer to see this sport as incredibly healthy internationally," Gimelstob said in a recent interview. "We still are healthy, just not when you compare to generations past. And I view that as an unrealistic bar. Andy is still playing at a top 10 level.
"That said, I do not believe that American tennis will be able to maintain, or match, what it has done. The public better accept that it's not going to be like years past."
Paul Annacone, a former US tennis pro and current Federer coach, believes the good times will return for the US.
"I had these same conversations when John and Jimmy retired," he said. "There was a bit of a lull. There weren't really any big, powerful superstars. Then you had Pete and Andre and Jim and Michael Chang. There's no reason to panic."
arizvi@thenational.ae
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre supercharged V6
Power: 416hp at 7,000rpm
Torque: 410Nm at 3,500rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Fuel consumption: 10.2 l/100km
Price: Dh375,000
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Company%20Profile
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
'Will%20of%20the%20People'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMuse%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWarner%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Zodi%20%26%20Tehu%3A%20Princes%20Of%20The%20Desert
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEric%20Barbier%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYoussef%20Hajdi%2C%20Nadia%20Benzakour%2C%20Yasser%20Drief%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
How%20I%20connect%20with%20my%20kids%20when%20working%20or%20travelling
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Company%20profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Where to submit a sample
Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
