US Open Tennis: Drought for American Men Won't End in 2011

Three American men are standing at the US Open. John Isner, Donald Young and Andy Roddick are all awaiting their fourth round matches, hoping to advance to the quarterfinals.

The American men haven't won a grand slam event since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003.

2011's US Open has given the American men something of a resurgence. Donald Young in particular has really energized the American fans.

The American drought certainly won't last forever. It just won't end in 2011.

The top names of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray all had question marks around them coming into this tournament, perhaps deepening the field of potential winners.

But all of them, particularly Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, have done a lot to silence the doubters. 

In 2012, there are four grand slams for the American men to break through that group. That goes for players from all across the world.

I doubt very seriously the elite group of players listed above will make up all of 2012's grand slam winners. At that point, who knows what will happen and who will win?

But the three of them are just playing too well right now. Djokovic in particular is red hot, coming off of a shoulder injury suffered just before the US Open.

He doesn’t seem to be showing any lingering pain in his game. Nadal and Federer have had moments where they looked flat. Murray still doesn’t have a grand slam win. But the talent that those four possess will just be too much here.

Young plays with a lot of energy and rallies fans in a way that Americans haven’t seen in a while. Roddick and Isner both possess rocket serves that are hard to beat.

But Young is a little too inexperienced on this stage, and Roddick and Isner have both been too inconsistent on his stage to be seen as real threats to the top players.

Make no mistake; the odds are better now than they have been in past grand slams. But it’s hard to see anyone other than Djokovic, Nadal, Federer or Murray winning this one.