Sunday was a painful reminder for U.S. tennis that Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors are gone. And there's still nobody coming up to replace them.
According to BBC.com, Andy Murray's 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over John Isner gave Great Britain a 3-1 victory over the Americans in the Davis Cup round of 16, extending the United States' drought to eight years in the international event -- and only one appearance in the last 20.
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Isner is the top-ranked player in the world at No. 20, which helps explain America's plight. Playing the No. 4-ranked Murray would've required a significant upset for Isner to accomplish. But he was expected to beat Great Britain's other singles player, James Ward.
When Ward upset Isner in five sets, it was game, set and match against the Americans.
"This one's on me," Isner said, according to BBC.com. "My teammates may say otherwise but when you look at this matchup on paper, my loss on Friday put us in a huge hole. It's so, so disappointing for me. I feel like I let us down this week. It's a terrible feeling."
But not an unfamiliar one.
In addition to the Americans' drought at the Davis Cup, no one in the red, white and blue has won a Grand Slam event since Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003.
According to the ATP, only six U.S. players are in the top 100 in the world rankings: Isner at No. 20, Sam Querry at No. 43, Steve Johnson at No. 44, Donald Young (Isner's partner in the Davis Cup tie against Great Britain), Jack Sock at No. 58 and Tim Smyczek at No. 83.
While Isner accepts the blame for the latest U.S. loss, the USTA must shoulder some of the responsibility for not developing players that would prevent Isner from being the American's go-to player in Davis Cup.
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