Americans primed for title success in Washington
America is well-placed for a local champion at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, and these days it’s not just Andy Roddick carrying the load.
While Roddick will be zeroing in on adding a second US Open title to the one he won in 2003 as he takes to the court in the US capital in the lead up to Flushing Meadows, Sam Querrey, John Isner and a rejuvenated Mardy Fish must all be considered among the contenders for the title here.
It’s difficult to overstate Querrey’s credentials heading into this tournament based on his 2010 form, which most recently includes victory over Andy Murray in the Los Angeles final last weekend. That win handed the 22-year-old his fourth title of the season, and joins crowns at Memphis and Belgrade (on both occasions defeating Isner in the final), and the Queen’s Club (where Fish claimed runner-up honours).
Indeed, Querrey’s title haul, in terms of numbers, is second only to one man in 2010. And when you consider that man is none other than world No. 1 and Wimbledon and French Open champion Rafael Nadal, that’s an impressive achievement by any standards.
Perhaps the caveat needs to be that three of those titles came at ATP 250 tournaments, with the ATP 500 Memphis tournament the biggest event in which the world No. 20 has triumphed this year. Still, that’s two wins on home soil for Querrey, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the sixth seed right at the pointy end of the action here.
Isner too could push deep into this tournament. He may be destined to be forever known as the victor of that Wimbledon marathon match against Nicolas Mahut this year, but Isner’s performances elsewhere in 2010 suggest the 6ft 9in right-hander is far more than just one half of that historic match.
Isner began the year with victory in Auckland – his first ATP Tour title – and has reached three finals since, most recently at Atlanta (where Fish won the title), in his first competitive hit-out since the grass court Grand Slam.
The formula is simple for the world No. 19: get on the front foot with his booming serve and the rest should hopefully follow. A finalist in Washington in 2007, and a semi-finalist last year (lost to Roddick) Isner has past form on his side here, but has landed in a tough quarter of the draw with top seed and Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych (Isner did defeat the Czech in the quarters here last year, but Berdych has learned how to harness his obvious talents to his best advantage since).
World No. 35-ranked Fish is perhaps the most in-form of this American quartet at present, and has been undefeated since Wimbledon as he claimed titles in both Newport and Atlanta before taking a break from singles due to fatigue and injury. Three titles in three tournaments seems a stretch for Fish, who earlier in the year dropped outside the top-100, but not an impossibility based on his current form.
Which brings us back to Roddick. The 27-year-old’s grass-court season was a bust as he bowed out of Wimbledon in a fourth round boil over against 82nd-ranked Yen-Hsun Lu, but he enters Washington as the second seed and with two hard court titles – in Brisbane and at the ATP Masters 1000 in Miami – under his belt for the year.
A three-time past champion at this tournament, Roddick defeated both Isner and Querrey on his way to last year’s final, where he was in turn defeated by defending champion Juan Martin del Potro. Roddick has only once failed to reach the quarter-finals in Washington, and has a kind draw this year, sharing a quarter with seeds Radek Stepanek on his return from injury, Gilles Simon (who is yet to find top gear since his return from injury during June) and Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka.
It would be a surprise if Roddick didn’t at least reach the semi-finals here again this year, but should he fail to do so it’s still difficult to imagine a final four, and perhaps even a final, without an American among its number.
It’s just a matter of which one.
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