We are in the midst of the worst decade of men’s American tennis in the Open era. Things would be just as dire on the women’s side if not for the Williams sisters. As we head into the second Grand Slam event of the 2017 season, the French Open on the red clay of Roland Garros, is there any reason to think an American can win a title in Paris?
With Serena Williams sidelined the rest of 2017 due to her pregnancy, the chances are very slim. The shortest BookMaker odds to win of any U.S. player belong to Venus Williams at +3000. That tells you all you need to know about the state of American tennis as Venus is an all-time great but also 36 and well past her prime. Planning to bet on the French Open? Check out SBR’s Bookmaker review and visit its website for more tennis odds.
On the men’s side, an American hasn’t won the French Open since Andre Agassi in 1999. Incidentally, Agassi could have an impact on this year’s tournament as he is the new coach of world No. 2 and second-betting favorite Novak Djokovic, the defending champion. In the Open era, Americans have won the French just four times overall; in addition to Agassi, Jim Courier won it back-to-back in 1991-92 and Michael Chang did in 1989. A U.S. player hasn’t reached the finals since Agassi’s win. All-time great Pete Sampras never reached a final.
Many believe that clay is a gimmick surface, and that Americans don’t fare well on it because they don’t grow up learning the game on that surface. It’s a prevalent surface in Spain, for example, and Spaniards have combined for 15 French Open titles in the Open era, led by Rafael Nadal’s record nine. He’s the -125 favorite at BookMaker, an A+-rated site at Sportsbook Review, to make it No. 10 in a couple of weeks.
The highest-ranked American man in the world is Jack Sock at No. 15, and he’s a +15000 long shot to win his first Grand Slam event. He’s unfortunately in the same part of the draw as Nadal so they could meet in the fourth round. The furthest Sock has gone at Roland Garros is the fourth round in 2015. He has yet to make a quarterfinal in any Grand Slam tournament.
John Isner is the second-best American player and ranked 22nd. The big hitter is +20000 to win the tournament. He’s looking at likely third-round matchup against No. 13 Tomas Berdych. Isner’s best result at the French Open is the fourth round, and he has reached the quarterfinals of just one Slam: the 2011 U.S. Open.
On the women’s side, Serena would have been the BookMaker betting favorite to win. She is a three-time champion in Paris, still her fewest of any Grand Slam tournament. Sister Venus is the highest-ranked U.S. player on the women’s side, but clay is easily her worst surface. Venus was a runner-up at the French in 2002 but hasn’t advanced past the fourth round since 2006.
Madison Keys is ranked 13th in the world and is +5000 to win. It’s her fifth French Open, and Keys’ best result was the fourth round last year. Only one American woman has won the French other than Serena since 1986: Jennifer Capriati in 2001.
France is simply not kind to Americans – the cliché is very true in terms of tennis.
