PARIS — Let’s face it, of late, times have been miserable for American tennis. No Serena, no Venus, no Slams, no glory. No kidding. But for one shining moment for the U.S., the 21st century seemed to be the American century, well at least for a nano-second or two. And this wasn’t Wimbledon, where the grass empowers power-Americans, or Flushing Meadows, where U.S. Open fans give gusto to the Yanks.
No, this is May, so it must be Roland Garros, where humiliating Americans is a sporting (or, should we say, a not-so-sporting) indulgence. Here, Americans are dismantled with little fanfare by one crafty dirballer after another. After an American loses here, press conferences seem as pleasant as trips to the dentist’s office. (And Andy Roddick isn’t even here to try and hoist the flag.)
Not surprisingly, on the first Monday there was an American sprint to the exits, with the notable exception of brave old Jill Craybas, 36, and the resurgent Mardy Fish, who (with hardly much bravado for a top-10 player) shared his underwhelming goal of reaching the third round. So much for Joe Namath-like, we’re-going-all-the-way predictions. Of course, press sages were wondering whether there would be any Americans left in town by Friday. When analysts saw the draw, there were ample moans and curious questions. Certainly, Sam Querrey — who sputtered in the first round last year and then complained of being homesick and admitted he tanked some points – would go down to the German vet Philipp Kohlschreiber. Even more obviously, John Isner, for all his ability to make history in the opening rounds of Slams, would be grist for the mill for Rafael Nadal, the greatest clay-courter player in the history of dirt.
Then a curious thing happened on the way to the dirge. Vania King (out on Court 3), was actually staying close to former Roland Garros semifinalist Dominika Cibulkova. Plus, Querrey, after losing the opening set to Kohlschreiber — a considerable German who’s strong off of both wings – called on his athleticism, big serve and forehand, an emerging ability to slide into his backhand and a belief that he could meet his French Open expectation: to win a single match. Dominating the court, slingin’ Sammy scored a runaway 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory. Afterward, the Californian said, “I’m a fan of hot weather [and fast clay courts].”
All the while, on the Suzanne Lenglen show court, the California trooper King took Cibulkova, a small but dangerous Slovokian floater, deep into a grueling first set tiebreak, but dropped three set points to lose the opener 7-6(10). In the past, that might have been it for Vania. But a few years ago, she faced up to the joyless reality of her then struggling career and headed off to Flordia to train on nothing but clay. Now the move paid off, as she bounced back to score a 6-7 (10), 6-3, 6-2 win in a marathon Battle of the Mighty Mights.
Also impressive was the man who may or may not be the future of American tennis — Ryan Harrison, a lucky loser. The Texan took a set off of Robin Soderling, who has reached the French final for two straight years. Eventually, Harrison lost 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5. Still, it was a notable performance, but hardly as stunning as what was happening on Court Centrale.
After Isner predictably lost the first set to Nadal 6-4 and then was down a break in the second 4-2, the big man who loves the big stage broke back and imposed his biggest in the game serve. Blasting deep returns off of both wings, he stroked delicate drop shots and implemented smart, nothing-to-lose tactics. Isner won a bundle of what he called “cheap points” off his serve and then challenged one of the greatest return artists in the game by continually charging the net ,where he scored many a stretch volley winner.
Rafa – the great Spanish matador who hadn’t lost a set here since the 2009 final – had few answers. He seemed tired, uninspired, vulnerable. Where was his menacing curled lip, that nasty snarl? Had his horrific clay losses to Novak Djokovic in Madrid and, worse yet, in Rome, taken some kind of psychic toll his once fiercely confidence? Imposing himself, Isner scored back to back tiebreak wins in the second and third sets to streak to an implausibe two sets to one lead. French fans were mumbling. “What’s happening?” they seemed to ask. Rafa hadn’t lost a set here since the 2009 final against Soderling. “Wow, this is shocking,” said pressroom wags.
“Always it’s very, very close match against John,” said Nadal. “Because with his serve he arrives to the tiebreak and you play under pressure all the time. For moments in the tiebreak I didn’t play very well. I was probably too nervous.”
Could Isner score yet another historic first-round victory like he did at Wimbledon with his marathon win over Nicolas Mahut?
No.
Nadal’s body language and his game changed. The No. 1 seed, who is hoping to tie Bjorn Borg’s record of six French Open titles, stopped pushing the ball, cut down on his forehand errors and began to show why he is the clay master of our generation.
“Really,” said Isner, “what it came down to is the way he played in the fourth and fifth sets. I haven’t seen tennis like that ever. That’s why he’s No. 1 in the world and one of the greatest players ever…He was pushing me around, believe me.”
Still, Isner had taken Nadal to his first ever five set match at Roland Garros and had a shot to even it all up before one key exchange. But Rafa prevailed. Isner recalled, “That 30-all point in the last game, I needed oxygen after that. I almost collapsed. My legs were dead.”
But, at least on this one almost glorious day, American hopes on the slow red stuff in Paris, were ever-so-briefly awaken from the dead.
