The Great American Struggle

Based on the recent performance of the U.S. Fed Cup team, I began questioning the current state of American tennis.

The United States has been in what seems like a never-ending transition between the Williams Sisters era and the next generation. With a promising number of American women beginning to make their move up the WTA rankings, I look for two things: a strong fundamental base to improve their game, and a killer instinct. Based on the recent performance of the U.S. Fed Cup team, the U.S. women are still not ready to compete at the elite level.

Prior to the tie held in Cleveland Ohio, I believed the inexperienced American squad had a strong chance of reversing the fortunes against an Italian team they have failed to beat in 11 years. Captain Mary Joe Fernandez selected three Fed Cup newcomers, Madison Keys, Alison Riske, and Lauren Davis, along with the more experienced Christina McHale.

Even with the absence of Sloane Stephens and the Williams Sisters, the young American women had been playing well coming into the tie. Both Riske and Davis were coming off third round showings at the Australian Open, while Keys made her first WTA premier level semifinal in Sydney. The encouraging play by the U.S. women made the outcome of the tie even more surprising.

Captain Fernandez made the questionable decision to select McHale for the tie’s opening rubber over Alison Riske, ranked No. 46. I was somewhat dumbfounded by the selection based on McHale’s recent struggles. Ever since contracting mononucleosis during the 2012 season, McHale has not been the same player. McHale has seen her ranking fall from a career high 24 to just outside the top 70 at 71.       

From the opening game of the match, McHale appeared to struggle with the powerful serving and ground game of her opponent, Karin Knapp. The weight and depth of Knapp’s shots frequently pushed McHale well behind the baseline, keeping McHale on the defensive. Being slight in stature, the 5’7” McHale lacked the power to hit through the slow court conditions and compete with Knapp from the baseline. Despite pushing Knapp to a decisive third set, McHale was unable to carrying the momentum into the final set, bowing out to Knapp 3-6 6-3 1-6.

Madison Keys, the highest ranked player on either side at No. 37, stepped on court next against hard-hitting Camila Giorgi. As one of the WTA’s rising stars, I was anxious to see how Keys would perform in her Fed Cup debut. After a relatively easy service hold by Giorgi to start the match, Keys started her opening serving game well, quickly racing to 40-0. However, her game seemed to fall apart from there. Keys would lose five consecutive points, including four backhand errors, to lose serve. The Italian, ranked 84^th in the world, used the hard, flat groundstrokes, which helped her reach the round of 16 at the U.S. Open last year, to dismantle the strong serving Keys 6-2 6-1. Giorgi’s win would hand the American an almost insurmountable 0-2 deficit.   

After watching several of Keys matches, I recognized that her attitude and mental strength could be shaky at times. Though much improved from the start of her career, when Keys is down in a match, or is making a lot of unforced errors, she begins to get down on herself, and lets the match slip away. If Keys wants to become one of the WTA elite, she must learn to better construct her points, and learn how to regroup when her game begins to unravel.  

The U.S. Fed Cup squad would go on to lose the tie 3-1. Even though the straightforward defeat was a good learning experience for the young U.S. squad, I questioned whether this loss was a cause for concern for American tennis fans. After discussing it with my brother, a huge tennis fan in his own right, we agreed that the greatest concern regarding the performance of the U.S. women was their lack of a killer instinct on the court. My definition of an athlete with a killer instinct is someone who possesses the ruthless determination to step on court and do whatever it takes to win. Watching the three singles rubbers, I didn’t see a glimpse of this quality from McHale, Keys, or Riske.

What are your thoughts about the current state of American tennis? Is the Fed Cup performance a cause for concern? Let me know in the comments!

In my next blog post, I will discuss who I believe could be tennis’ next superstar.

If you enjoyed this post, I’d be grateful if you spread the word by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Twitter or Facebook. Thank you!