Australian Open 2012: Andy Roddick and American Stars with Best Shot Down Under

No American man has won a Grand Slam tournament since Andy Roddick was triumphant in the 2003 US Open. While that may lend a reason to be pessimistic about the chances of an American breaking through in the upcoming Australian Open, the current crop of American men's players is as deep as it has been in quite some time.

There is no question that Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray are the favorites, but there are always a couple surprises that manage to go deep in these tournaments. I'm not saying that an American is going to shock the world and win, but here are three who have a puncher's chance to go a long way at the Aussie Open.

John Isner

Currently ranked No. 17 in the world, John Isner has all the tools to be an elite player in the near future. His biggest asset is clearly his size, as he stands 6'9" and weighs in at 245 lbs. While that naturally hinders his movement a bit, it also gives him one of the biggest serves on tour. That is a weapon that can be extremely useful on the hard courts of the Australian Open.

Isner is far from a perfect player and he will have trouble with some of the more athletic ball retrievers like Rafael Nadal, but his power alone is enough to overwhelm some of his closest competitors. It's fair to say that the draw will really have to work in his favor if he is going to make a run past the final 16, but at the age of 26 he continues to improve and could be in for his best year yet.

Mardy Fish

Although he is far from the most talked about American on tour, Mardy Fish is the highest ranked at No. 8. It took a little while for Fish's game to evolve to this point, but 2011 was his best season as a professional by far, and he will certainly look to build upon it. Based on his ranking alone, anything other than a spot in the quarterfinals would be a major disappointment.

Like Isner, Fish will need a favorable draw, but luckily he won't have to contend with one of the top four seeds until the quarters. Fish played the likes of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray very tough in tournaments last season, and he even managed to beat Rafael Nadal. So, on any given day, he can knock off one of the big four, and that makes him a legitimate force.

Andy Roddick

There is no question that Andy Roddick has fallen off in recent years, but no American male player even comes close to his track record. He won the US Open in 2003 and he has reached a Grand Slam final on four other occasions. When he is on his game and focused, there is no question that he has the talent to be a top-five player and compete for Grand Slam titles.

Roddick's issue, though, is that he appears to be a bit of a head case at times who lets his emotions get the best of him. I'm willing to bet that most of his struggles over the past couple years can be attributed more to the mental side of things than anything physical. It's a new year, so perhaps we will see a new Andy Roddick who more closely resembles the Andy Roddick from the early-to-mid 2000s. If he is anywhere near that level, then he will be a contender down under.