The first major of the season, the Australian Open, just started (tonight at 6:30PM ET on ESPN2) and Breitbart Sports has the top 5 things you should look for in the Open.
#1 – Novak Djokovic All eyes will be on the defending champion. He ended 2012 on top, barely squeaking by Roger Federer for the world #1 ranking. Will he be able to win three straight Australian Open titles? No man has done it, but Djokovic could very well be the first.
#2 – American tennis without Andy Roddick No John Isner at the Open is a crushing blow to the United States. The US used to be a dominant force in tennis, but after Pete Sampras and Andre Aggasi retired we’ve never recovered. Our one hope was Andy Roddick, but he never really lived up to the hype. He retired after the 2012 US Open and now Isner is out of the Australian Open. Will any of the Americans at the Open surprise us? We sure hope so.
#3 – Will the top 10 men take advantage with no Rafa? Nadal has not competed since Wimbledon and we thought he would make a return at the Australian Open. He had to pull out due to a stomach flu and this would be a great opportunity for players in the top 10 to make their mark. These include Tomas Berdych, Juan Martin Del Potro, Janko Tipsarevic, and David Ferrer. Berdych and Del Potro cause problems for Federer. Ferrer came out of his shell in 2012 and won his first title. It should not come to a surprise to anyone if any of these men unseat the top 3.
#4 – Roger Federer’s first round Federer is not the player he used to be and he showed it at the US Open and the minor tournaments following it. He will face Frenchman Benoit Paire in the opening round and will most likely face Nikolay Davydenko. It is not expected for either to upset Federer, but they could force the matches to four sets and tire out Federer, which will affect the way he plays against the higher seed players.
#5 – Serena Williams She’s back and defending champion Victoria Azarenka should be worried. Last year Williams lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open and the first round of the French Open. People started to think she was on the downhill, but the second part of 2012 proved otherwise. She won Wimbledon and the US Open along with the gold medal at the Olympics. While the US may lack men in tennis we still have Serena Williams to bring us glory. Hopefully she finishes higher in the 2013 Australian Open.
As the table at the end of this story shows, US Tennis has been through an incredible transformation. From 1989 to 1997, the US grabbed 18 men’s titles from four different champions, while the only women’s title in the nine years was from Martina Navratilova after she changed her citizenship. In the next six years, the US Women suddenly surpassed the men with 16 titles in just six years, including a sweep of the 2001 and 2002 Grand Slam events by three different US Women. That stretch ended with great hopes that Andy Roddick would carry the torch for Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
However, Roddick has now retired at the end of a stretch during which neither he or any other American won a title. In fact, the Williams sisters are the only Americans who have won any title in the last nine years, with Serena Williams looking for her 11th title in 10 years in Australia, and Venus Williams adding two. Here are the five things to watch followed by a breakdown of US winners and all winners since 1989.
| Year | US Men | US Women | US Champions by Grand Slam |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 1 | 0 | Chang FR |
| 1990 | 1 | 1 | Sampras US, Navratilova WM |
| 1991 | 1 | 0 | Courier FR |
| 1992 | 3 | 0 | Courier FR & AU, Agassi WM |
| 1993 | 3 | 0 | Courier AU, Sampras US & WM |
| 1994 | 3 | 0 | Sampras AU & WM, Agassi US |
| 1995 | 3 | 0 | Sampras US & WM, Agassi AU |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 | Sampras US |
| 1997 | 2 | 0 | Sampras AU & WM |
| 9 years | 18 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | 1 | Davenport US, Sampras WM |
| 1999 | 3 | 2 | Agassi FR, US, Sampras WM, Davenport WM, SWilliams US |
| 2000 | 2 | 3 | Agassi, AU, Davenport AU, Sampras WM, VWilliams US, WM |
| 2001 | 1 | 4 | Agassi AU, Carpiati AU & FR, V Williams US & WM |
| 2002 | 1 | 4 | Carpiati AU, Sampras US, S Williams FR, US, WM |
| 2003 | 2 | 2 | Agassi AU, Roddick US, S Williams AU & WM |
| 6 years | 10 | 16 | |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 | None |
| 2005 | 0 | 2 | S Williams AU, V Williams WM |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | None |
| 2007 | 0 | 2 | S Williams AU, V Williams WM |
| 2008 | 0 | 2 | S Williams US & WM |
| 2009 | 0 | 2 | S Williams AU & WM |
| 2010 | 0 | 2 | S Williams AU & WM |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | None |
| 2012 | 0 | 2 | S Williams US & WM |
| 9 years | 0 | 12 |
And here are all of the Champions since 1989
| Year | Country | Champ | Slam Event | Gender |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Czech | Ivan Lendl | Australian | Men |
| 1989 | USA | Michael Chang | French | Men |
| 1989 | GER | Boris Becker | US Open | Men |
| 1989 | GER | Boris Becker | Wimbledon | Men |
| 1989 | GER | Steffi Graf | Australian Open | Women |
| 1989 | Spain | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | French | Women |
| 1989 | GER | Steffi Graf | US Open | Women |
| 1989 | GER | Steffi Graf | Wimbledon | Women |
| 1989 | 1 US Men, 0 US Women | |||
| 1990 | Czech | Ivan Lendl | Australian | Men |
| 1990 | ECU | Andrés Gómez | French | Men |
| 1990 | USA | Pete Sampras | US Open | Men |
| 1990 | SWE | Stefan Edberg | Wimbledon | Men |
| 1990 | GER | Steffi Graf | Australian Open | Women |
| 1990 | YUG | Monica Seles | French | Women |
| 1990 | Argentina | Gabriela Sabatini | US Open | Women |
| 1990 | USA | Martina Navratilova | Wimbledon | Women |
| 1990 | 1 US Men, 1 US Women | |||
| 1991 | GER | Boris Becker | Australian | Men |
| 1991 | USA | Jim Courier | French | Men |
| 1991 | SWE | Stefan Edberg | US Open | Men |
| 1991 | GER | Michael Stich | Wimbledon | Men |
| 1991 | YUG | Monica Seles | Australian Open | Women |
| 1991 | YUG | Monica Seles | French | Women |
| 1991 | YUG | Monica Seles | US Open | Women |
| 1991 | GER | Steffi Graf | Wimbledon | Women |
| 1991 | 1 US Men, 0 US Women | |||
| 1992 | USA | Jim Courier | Australian | Men |
| 1992 | USA | Jim Courier | French | Men |
| 1992 | SWE | Stefan Edberg | US Open | Men |
| 1992 | USA | Andre Agassi | Wimbledon | Men |
| 1992 | YUG | Monica Seles | Australian Open | Women |
| 1992 | YUG | Monica Seles | French | Women |
| 1992 | YUG | Monica Seles | US Open | Women |
| 1992 | GER | Steffi Graf | Wimbledon | Women |
| 1992 | 3 US Men, 0 US Women | |||
| 1993 | USA | Jim Courier | Australian | Men |
| 1993 | Spain | Sergi Bruguera | French | Men |
| 1993 | USA | Pete Sampras | US Open | Men |
| 1993 | USA | Pete Sampras | Wimbledon | Men |
| 1993 | YUG | Monica Seles | Australian Open | Women |
| 1993 | GER | Steffi Graf | French | Women |
| 1993 | GER | Steffi Graf | US Open | Women |
| 1993 | GER | Steffi Graf | Wimbledon | Women |
| 1993 | 3 US Men, 0 US Women | |||
| 1994 | USA | Pete Sampras | Australian | Men |
| 1994 | Spain | Sergi Bruguera | French | Men |
| 1994 | USA | Andre Agassi | US Open | Men |
| 1994 | USA | Pete Sampras | Wimbledon | Men |
| 1994 | GER | Steffi Graf | Australian Open | Women |
| 1994 | Spain | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | French | Women |
| 1994 | Spain | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | US Open | Women |
| 1994 | Spain | Conchita Martínez | Wimbledon | Women |
| 1994 | 3 US Men, 0 US Women | |||
| 1995 | USA | Andre Agassi | Australian | Men |
| 1995 | AUT | Thomas Muster | French | Men |
| 1995 | USA | Pete Sampras | US Open | Men |
| 1995 | USA | Pete Sampras | Wimbledon | Men |
| 1995 | FRA | Mary Pierce | Australian Open | Women |
| 1995 | GER | Steffi Graf | French | Women |
| 1995 | GER | Steffi Graf | US Open | Women |
| 1995 | GER | Steffi Graf | Wimbledon | Women |
| 1995 | 3 US Men, 0 US Women | |||
| 1996 | GER | Boris Becker | Australian | Men |
| 1996 | RUS | Yevgeny Kafelnikov | French | Men |
| 1996 | USA | Pete Sampras | US Open | Men |
| 1996 | NLD | Richard Krajicek | Wimbledon | Men |
| 1996 | YUG | Monica Seles | Australian Open | Women |
| 1996 | GER | Steffi Graf | French | Women |
| 1996 | GER | Steffi Graf | US Open | Women |
| 1996 | GER | Steffi Graf | Wimbledon | Women |
| 1996 | 1 US Men, 0 US Women | |||
| 1997 | USA | Pete Sampras | Australian | Men |
| 1997 | BRA | Gustavo Kuerten | French | Men |
| 1997 | Australia | Patrick Rafter | US Open | Men |
| 1997 | USA | Pete Sampras | Wimbledon | Men |
| 1997 | Switz | Martina Hingis | Australian Open | Women |
| 1997 | CRO | IvaIva Majoli | French | Women |
| 1997 | SUI | Martina Hingis | US Open | Women |
| 1997 | SUI | Martina Hingis | Wimbledon | Women |
| 1997 | 2 US Men, 0 US Women | |||
| 1998 | Czech | Petr Korda | Australian | Men |
| 1998 | Spain | Carlos Moyá | French | Men |
| 1998 | Australia | Patrick Rafter | US Open | Men |
| 1998 | USA | Pete Sampras | Wimbledon | Men |
| 1998 | Switz | Martina Hingis | Australian Open | Women |
| 1998 | Spain | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | French | Women |
| 1998 | USA | Lindsay Davenport | US Open | Women |
| 1998 | CZE | Jana Novotná | Wimbledon | Women |
| 1998 | 1 US Men, 1 US Women | |||
| 1999 | RUS | Yevgeny Kafelnikov | Australian | Men |
| 1999 | USA | Andre Agassi | French | Men |
| 1999 | USA | Andre Agassi | US Open | Men |
| 1999 | USA | Pete Sampras | Wimbledon | Men |
| 1999 | Switz | Martina Hingis | Australian Open | Women |
| 1999 | GER | Steffi Graf | French | Women |
| 1999 | USA | Serena Williams | US Open | Women |
| 1999 | USA | Lindsay Davenport | Wimbledon | Women |
| 1999 | 3 US Men, 2 US Women | |||
| 2000 | USA | Andre Agassi | Australian | Men |
| 2000 | BRA | Gustavo Kuerten | French | Men |
| 2000 | RUS | Marat Safin | US Open | Men |
| 2000 | USA | Pete Sampras | Wimbledon | Men |
| 2000 | USA | Lindsay Davenport | Australian Open | Women |
| 2000 | FRA | Mary Pierce | French | Women |
| 2000 | USA | Venus Williams | US Open | Women |
| 2000 | USA | Venus Williams | Wimbledon | Women |
| 2000 | 2 US Men, 3 US Women | |||
| 2001 | USA | Andre Agassi | Australian | Men |
| 2001 | BRA | Gustavo Kuerten | French | Men |
| 2001 | Australia | Lleyton Hewitt | US Open | Men |
| 2001 | CRO | Goran Ivanišević | Wimbledon | Men |
| 2001 | USA | Jennifer Capriati | Australian Open | Women |
| 2001 | USA | Jennifer Capriati | French | Women |
| 2001 | USA | Venus Williams | US Open | Women |
| 2001 | USA | Venus Williams | Wimbledon | Women |
| 2001 | 1 US Men, 4 US Women | |||
| 2002 | SWE | Thomas Johansson | Australian | Men |
| 2002 | Spain | Albert Costa | French | Men |
| 2002 | USA | Pete Sampras | US Open | Men |
| 2002 | Australia | Lleyton Hewitt | Wimbledon | Men |
| 2002 | USA | Jennifer Capriati | Australian Open | Women |
| 2002 | USA | Serena Williams | French | Women |
| 2002 | USA | Serena Williams | US Open | Women |
| 2002 | USA | Serena Williams | Wimbledon | Women |
| 2002 | 1 US Men, 4 US Women | |||
| 2003 | USA | Andre Agassi | Australian | Men |
| 2003 | Spain | Juan Carlos Ferrero | French | Men |
| 2003 | USA | Andy Roddick | US Open | Men |
| 2003 | Switz | Roger Federer | Wimbledon | Men |
| 2003 | USA | Serena Williams | Australian Open | Women |
| 2003 | BEL | Justine Henin | French | Women |
| 2003 | BEL | Justine Henin | US Open | Women |
| 2003 | USA | Serena Williams | Wimbledon | Women |
| 2003 | 2 US Men, 2 US Women | |||
| 2004 | Switz | Roger Federer | Australian | Men |
| 2004 | Argentina | Gastón Gaudio | French | Men |
| 2004 | Switz | Roger Federer | US Open | Men |
| 2004 | Switz | Roger Federer | Wimbledon | Men |
| 2004 | BELG | Justine Henin | Australian Open | Women |
| 2004 | RUS | Anastasia Myskina | French | Women |
| 2004 | RUS | Svetlana Kuznetsova | US Open | Women |
| 2004 | RUS | Maria Sharapova | Wimbledon | Women |
| 2004 | 0 US Men, 0 US Women | |||
| 2005 | RUS | Marat Safin | Australian | Men |
| 2005 | Spain | Rafael Nadal | French | Men |
| 2005 | Switz | Roger Federer | US Open | Men |
| 2005 | Switz | Roger Federer | Wimbledon | Men |
| 2005 | USA | Serena Williams | Australian Open | Women |
| 2005 | BEL | Justine Henin | French | Women |
| 2005 | BEL | Kim Clijsters | US Open | Women |
| 2005 | USA | Venus Williams | Wimbledon | Women |
| 2005 | 0 US Men, 2 US Women | |||
| 2006 | Switz | Roger Federer | Australian | Men |
| 2006 | Spain | Rafael Nadal | French | Men |
| 2006 | Switz | Roger Federer | US Open | Men |
| 2006 | Switz | Roger Federer | Wimbledon | Men |
| 2006 | FRA | Amélie Mauresmo | Australian Open | Women |
| 2006 | BEL | Justine Henin | French | Women |
| 2006 | RUS | Maria Sharapova | US Open | Women |
| 2006 | FRA | Amélie Mauresmo | Wimbledon | Women |
| 2006 | 0 US Men, 0 US Women | |||
| 2007 | Switz | Roger Federer | Australian | Men |
| 2007 | Spain | Rafael Nadal | French | Men |
| 2007 | Switz | Roger Federer | US Open | Men |
| 2007 | Switz | Roger Federer | Wimbledon | Men |
| 2007 | USA | Serena Williams | Australian Open | Women |
| 2007 | BEL | Justine Henin | French | Women |
| 2007 | BEL | Justine Henin | US Open | Women |
| 2007 | USA | Venus Williams | Wimbledon | Women |
| 2007 | 0 US Men, 2 US Women | |||
| 2008 | SRB | Novak Djokovic | Australian | Men |
| 2008 | Spain | Rafael Nadal | French | Men |
| 2008 | Switz | Roger Federer | US Open | Men |
| 2008 | Spain | Rafael Nadal | Wimbledon | Men |
| 2008 | RUS | Maria Sharapova | Australian Open | Women |
| 2008 | SRB | Ana Ivanovic | French | Women |
| 2008 | USA | Serena Williams | US Open | Women |
| 2008 | USA | Serena Williams | Wimbledon | Women |
| 2008 | 0 US Men, 2 US Women | |||
| 2009 | Spain | Rafael Nadal | Australian | Men |
| 2009 | Switz | Roger Federer | French | Men |
| 2009 | Argentina | Juan Martín del Potro | US Open | Men |
| 2009 | Switz | Roger Federer | Wimbledon | Men |
| 2009 | USA | Serena Williams | Australian Open | Women |
| 2009 | RUS | Svetlana Kuznetsova | French | Women |
| 2009 | BEL | Kim Clijsters | US Open | Women |
| 2009 | USA | Serena Williams | Wimbledon | Women |
| 2009 | 0 US Men, 2 US Women | |||
| 2010 | Switz | Roger Federer | Australian | Men |
| 2010 | Spain | Rafael Nadal | French | Men |
| 2010 | Spain | Rafael Nadal | US Open | Men |
| 2010 | Spain | Rafael Nadal | Wimbledon | Men |
| 2010 | USA | Serena Williams | Australian Open | Women |
| 2010 | ITA | Francesca Schiavone | French | Women |
| 2010 | BEL | Kim Clijsters | US Open | Women |
| 2010 | USA | Serena Williams | Wimbledon | Women |
| 2010 | 0 US Men, 2 US Women | |||
| 2011 | SRB | Novak Djokovic | Australian | Men |
| 2011 | Spain | Rafael Nadal | French | Men |
| 2011 | SRB | Novak Djokovic | US Open | Men |
| 2011 | SRB | Novak Djokovic | Wimbledon | Men |
| 2011 | BELG | Kim Clijsters | Australian Open | Women |
| 2011 | CHN | Li Na | French | Women |
| 2011 | Australia | Samantha Stosur | US Open | Women |
| 2011 | CZE | Petra Kvitová | Wimbledon | Women |
| 2011 | 0 US Men, 0 US Women | |||
| 2012 | SRB | Novak Djokovic | Australian | Men |
| 2012 | Spain | Rafael Nadal | French | Men |
| 2012 | UK | Andy Murray | US Open | Men |
| 2012 | Switz | Roger Federer | Wimbledon | Men |
| 2012 | BELAR | Victoria Azarenka | Australian Open | Women |
| 2012 | RUS | Maria Sharapova | French | Women |
| 2012 | USA | Serena Williams | US Open | Women |
| 2012 | USA | Serena Williams | Wimbledon | Women |
| 2012 | 0 US Men, 2 US Women |
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