CNN
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Historical past may come to view 2022 as a watershed 12 months for American tennis, even with the retirement of the nation’s best ever participant.
Serena Williams’ determination to hold up her racket felt like a pivotal second, such was her dominance within the sport for greater than twenty years. However in the identical 12 months, her compatriots confirmed that the way forward for tennis in america appears to be like shiny.
On the boys’s and ladies’s circuits, American gamers received extra singles and doubles titles final 12 months than some other nation – 22 on the ATP Tour and 21 on the WTA Tour.
Amongst these gamers to excel was Jessica Pegula, who rose to No. 3 on the planet rankings on the finish of 2022 – the best year-end end by an American since Williams in 2016.
The 28-year-old Pegula has carried her type into the brand new 12 months, too, defeating world No. 1 Iga Świątek because the US received the inaugural United Cup competitors earlier this month.
Her comparatively late rise by means of the rankings comes after battling accidents earlier in her profession.
Eurosport knowledgeable Laura Robson, a former Junior Wimbledon champion and an Olympic silver medalist, advised CNN Sport that Pegula is “undoubtedly” one of many essential contenders for the ladies’s title.
“She has at all times been an unbelievable ball striker however she’s improved her consistency and motion a lot during the last 12 months,” Robson stated.
“She is hitting the ball higher than ever and the win towards Świątek on the United Cup will give her an enormous quantity of confidence to imagine that she will lastly have that large breakthrough on the slams.”
Alongside Pegula, the 18-year-old Coco Gauff has continued to point out maturity and composure past her years.
Gauff reached a career-high fourth within the rankings in October and topped the doubles rankings for the primary time in August. She additionally contested her first grand slam ultimate on the French Open, dropping towards a dominant and in-form Świątek.
Like Pegula, Gauff has additionally began the 12 months in auspicious vogue after successful the third singles title of her profession in Auckland, New Zealand.
“Coco needs to be one of the best mover within the ladies’s sport, together with Świątek, so so long as her physique stays wholesome I at all times see her as a possible slam winner,” stated Robson.
“Mixed with the truth that she received final week in Auckland, that can give her such a optimistic mindset going into the event. If she’s ready to make use of the quick court docket floor in Melbourne along with her serve, I might see her having an important outcome.”
Madison Keys, in the meantime, was unbeaten throughout 5 United Cup video games and has not too long ago made her return to the highest 10 on the planet.
However will these performances translate to success on the Australian Open? Other than Williams, who received the year-opening grand slam seven occasions, Sofia Kenin is the opposite American lady to triumph in Melbourne prior to now 20 years.
Since that title in 2020, Kenin has struggled with type and damage, dropping properly outdoors the highest 100 within the rankings.
Different American challengers embrace Danielle Collins, final 12 months’s runner-up on the Australian Open, and 21-year-old Amanda Anisimova, a former grand slam semifinalist.
“I feel persons are form of proud of how this group is ticking alongside, particularly with Gauff and likewise Pegula within the combine,” Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg advised CNN Sport. “I feel persons are fairly content material proper now.”
However on the boys’s aspect, grand slam success has proved more durable to return by. Not since Andy Roddick’s US Open title 20 years in the past has an American man received a serious singles title, a number of months after Andre Agassi received the ultimate grand slam title of his profession on the Australian Open.
One other American male champion feels lengthy overdue, and among the many present crop of gamers, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Sebastian Korda look the almost certainly to finish the drought.
Fritz turned the primary American man since Agassi in 2001 to win Indian Wells final 12 months, whereas he additionally reached a primary grand slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon earlier than dropping to an ailing Rafael Nadal.
Tiafoe defeated Nadal to succeed in the semifinals of the US Open, and Korda, a former junior champion on the Australian Open, got here some extent away from defeating Novak Djokovic on the Adelaide Worldwide on January 8.
Korda, the son of two ex-tennis gamers and the brother of two skilled golfers, received his first ATP Tour title two years in the past aged 20 and got here agonisingly near ending Djokovic’s unbeaten run in Australia, which now stands at 34 matches.
“All three gamers actually impressed me within the lead-up occasions for the Australian Open,” stated Robson.
“Korda was outrageously near pulling off an upset towards Djokovic in Adelaide. The margins are so small and a scoreline like that exhibits you ways shut he’s to the perfect within the sport.
“Fritz and Tiafoe had been equally spectacular on the United Cup and with the new and quick situations in Melbourne they are going to be tremendous harmful.”
Djokovic’s 9 earlier titles on the Australian Open make him the favourite in Melbourne, though he has been managing a niggling hamstring in current video games.
High seed Nadal, in the meantime, has struggled since arriving in Australia having suffered back-to-back defeats within the United Cup.
The in-form US hopefuls are definitely outsiders to win the Australian Open, however current outcomes will make every of them quietly assured of manufacturing their very own American Dream Down Below.
“The American gamers have pushed one another and helped one another to imagine they will compete near that degree,” former participant turned broadcaster John McEnroe stated in a current interview with Eurosport.
“If I needed to choose one, I’d in all probability choose Sebastian Korda; he’s the youngest of that present high group of People and the one with probably the most upside proper now.
“Frances Tiafoe made some nice enhancements as properly, Taylor Fritz is a phenomenally superior ball-striker, and is a legit top-10 participant and a menace to make a deep run.”
