Australian Open Results: What Americans Must Do to Redeem Themselves in 2012

The 2012 Australian Open has been disappointing to say the least from an American point of view. Top-ranked men's tennis stars Mardy Fish, Andy Roddick and John Isner all fell in the first week of the tournament, and neither made it past the third round.

Time for a reality check.

On the women's side however, No. 12-ranked Serena Williams is still going strong well into the fourth round, where she is expected to cruise into a potential quarterfinal matchup with Maria Sharapova.

Still, American tennis desperately needs to redeem itself in the year's remaining Grand Slam events if the rest of the world is going to take it seriously. 

The good news for fans of American tennis: the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open are still months away. But don't expect Fish, Roddick and Isner to come into those events as highly-touted as they came into the Aussie Open last weekend.

Fish and Roddick aren't getting any younger, and their outings have been putrid as of late. In order for for them to redeem their country's status in the sport they need to learn from their failures at this January's Australian Open, as well as take a slice of humble pie. 

Something that would make redemption that much easier for the Americans would be getting younger, but that is clearly out of the question for guys like Fish and Roddick, who have been around for a good while.

At least Isner has the unique size to become a star. At 6'9" Isner must get better in every Grand Slam before his legs give out like his fellow veteran Americans. 

There is potential for American tennis in 2012, but the injury to Roddick will be difficult to overcome. At age 26, Isner is no doubt the future of this country's tennis, but he can take a page out of the Williams sisters' book heading into the French Open.