Australian Open 2012: Mardy Fish's Loss a Sign That American Tennis Needs a Hero

Mardy Fish came into the Australian Open as the highest-ranked and highest-seeded American man in the field. For all intents and purposes, that made him America's best hope to come away with a victory for American men.

Fish couldn't even make it out of the second round, losing to Alejandro Falla 6-7 (4-7), 3-6, 6-7 (6-8).

With Fish out of the picture, it's a good bet that American men will go winless at yet another Grand Slam. Beyond him, there just aren't many American men to get excited about.

Missing out on Grand Slams is something that has long since become routine for American men. You have to go all the way back to the 2003 U.S. Open to find the last American man to win a Grand Slam, as Andy Roddick did the honors by beating Juan Carlos Ferrero. Since then the tennis-loving crowd has gotten a steady dose of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and now Novak Djokovic.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.

When Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003, it was easy to be confident about the future of American men. He was in his early 20s at the time, and he had everything he needed to carry the torch passed by Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, who won 22 Grand Slams between them in the 1990s and early 2000s.

But alas, Roddick's career never really got better, and at this point, he's well past his prime.

It's therefore saying something that Roddick is still viewed as one of America's best hopes in the men's bracket every time a Grand Slam rolls around. We all know in our hearts that his best days are in the past, but maybe, just maybe he'll recapture his old greatness just long enough to win one for the old red, white and blue.

But he's not up to the task. Neither is Fish, apparently. And since both of them are up there in years, there's no point in hoping for either of them to win a Grand Slam in the near future.

Those two aside, you want nothing more than to place your hopes in a younger, more spry American man. The trouble is that there aren't many of those to be found. John Isner is still relatively young, but he's nothing special. Donald Young is still, well, young, but it's not like he's a can't-miss prodigy.

As you go further and further down the list, the less optimistic you get. That's when you get depressed, and you try not to remember that Americans owned the men's ranks not too long ago.

On the bright side, you have to think that American men won't be irrelevant forever. All it will take is one man, a hero sent from the heavens to restore American men's tennis to its former glory.

The question is when this might happen, and that's a question without an answer. 

The longer we wait, the more you have to worry. I'm already thinking that there just aren't that many American boys out there who dream of playing professional tennis, and I fear there will be even fewer if a hero doesn't arise for them to look up to.

It may sound like an absurd proposal, but keep in mind that us Americans have a tendency to shun things we're not good at (i.e. soccer).

So my advice is to cross your fingers. And while you're at it, be on the lookout for orphan babies garbed in red and blue and brandishing tennis rackets.