It has been a long time since an American cracked the top 2 in tennis rankings. Right now the top 4 players are from Europe. Why in the world can't America develop a number one talent in tennis.
I look at a guy like Donald Young and I hope he is the one. He beat the number 14 seed, Stanislas Wawrinka, on Friday in a grueling marathon.
This was a huge win for Young because it silents all the critics that have said he is the next American disappointment. He is 22 years old and he has finally started to come into his own. Over the past seven years Young has been in Newsweek, he has won the Junior Australian Open and he has been ranked the number one junior in the world. He also won the junior Wimbledon title. All this had happened by the age of 16.
Over the years, Young has had battles with the USTA in regards to how to develop and which tournaments to play in. In April the USTA would not grant him a wild card entry into the French Open. Things were souring fast for Young.
In March, Young beat Andy Murray at Indian Wells and in July he beat two top thirty players. One of those wins launched him to his first ATP semifinal in his career.
So with Friday's 4 hour match, Young has moved on to the next round. If he keeps his head straight and his tennis strong, I think we might see an American move up in the rankings.
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