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Weak U.S dependent on the DNA lottery: Courier

MELBOURNE - American tennis has less depth than in any previous era and while strides are being made to address the situation, finding new champions is dependent on the DNA lottery, according to former world number one Jim Courier.

By Nick Mulvenney

Andy Roddick’s departure from the fourth round on Sunday night left the U.S. without a representative in the men’s or women’s quarter-finals at the Australian Open for the first time since 1987, when not all top players made the trip Down Under.

The American presence in the women’s draw had already been ended by the third-round retirement of fourth seed Venus Williams, whose sister Serena Williams had to skip her title defence because of injury.

Courier, who celebrated back-to-back Melbourne titles in 1992 and 1993 by jumping into the Yarra river, said there were brighter prospects ahead but competition from other countries in tennis, and other sports in the U.S., made development tough. “I think American tennis, from a depth perspective, is lighter than it’s been since the beginning of open tennis,” the 40-year-old told Reuters in an interview at Melbourne Park.

“Even before that America was one of the countries that dominated throughout the history of the sport.

“We have a passion for it, but that passion has probably been diluted because other sports have grown and surpassed tennis as tennis has gone international.”

Courier’s interest in the development of top American men’s players became more than academic when he was recently appointed Davis Cup captain.

The four-times grand slam champion believes broadening the grassroots of the sport will help develop more top 100 players but guaranteeing the emergence of champions is a trickier.

“I don’t think America has any right to create star tennis players, it’s a matter of DNA,” he said. “When you grow the pool internationally, DNA doesn’t know where it was born, it just knows it’s got the capability of being great.”

BIGGER POOL

Competition from other major sports in the United States and popular pastimes like kite-boarding, skateboarding and video games had denuded the base, Courier added.

“We have probably less players playing at grassroots level in recent years,” he said. “The USTA is doing a terrific job trying to turn that around, trying to get a bigger pool of players start at a younger age and go up from there. “(But) you can’t create a champion, you can only nourish them when they decide to play your sport.”

There are currently five American players in the men’s top 100 headed up by world number eight Roddick, the former U.S Open champion who has carried his country’s hopes of more men’s grand slam titles for so many years now.

Courier is delighted with the strength of his squad for the Davis Cup, particularly after Roddick announced his return, and is very excited about a talented teenager standing at 172 in the world rankings.

“I think Ryan Harrison has the capability of being a great player. He has raw tools, and he’s a raw tennis player. He has a lot of development ahead of him,” Courier said. “He has an athletic build, which is a requirement these days, he seems to have a thirst for competition, and he has a thirst for improvement.

“He’ll get as good as he can be, he won’t leave any stones unturned, how good that level is we just don’t know, and we won’t know for some time.

“It’s exciting to see a young pro like him, who’s the most exciting 18-year-old we’ve had since Andy Roddick.”