Montreal, Aug 7: Next week, for the first time in 40 years of ATP rankings, there will be no American men in the top 20.
That's because John Isner, who is 20th this week, is assured of dropping lower after losing Tuesday in the first round of the Rogers Cup to Vasek Pospisil of Canada 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4).
Isner was a semifinalist at the hard-court tournament last year and failed to defend those ranking points.
It's the latest indication of the recent decline of men's tennis in the United States, which produced Grand Slam champions such as Bill Tilden and Don Budge, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
At Wimbledon in June, for the first time in 101 years, no men from the United States reached the third round at the All England Club. The last time no American men got that far at Wimbledon was in 1912 when none entered.
The U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 26, will mark 10 years since the last time an American man won a Grand Slam tournament—Andy Roddick at the 2003 U.S. Open.
Roddick was a fixture in the top 10 until a series of injuries hampered him shortly before he retired during last year's U.S. Open.
According to the ATP, at least one American man has appeared in the top 20 every week since the first computer rankings came out on Aug. 23, 1973. The new rankings will come out Monday.
