USA Men's Singles Year in Review

You could argue that 2013 was the worst year in the history of American tennis, at least as it related to men's singles. With only six men in the top 100 and the third best ranked #89, it's safe to say the state of American men's tennis is at a low point. I hope it never gets worse than this. While the way the season ended gives some hope for the lower ranked guys, the bottom line is American tennis remains too much about the serve and forehand. The modern game is about legs, slow courts and slow balls. A big serve and forehand cannot survive on their own in today's game unless you are John Isner. We will see some improvement when we develop players with better all around games that have legs and fitness. Tennis these days is about durability and defense, not shotmaking. Sad but true.

Only two titles were won by an American on the ATP tour this year, both by John Isner. Isner captured the titles in Houston and Atlanta and he was also able to make it to his second career Masters final in Cincinnati. No other American was a finalist on the ATP tour in 2013 (Isner was also a finalist in Washington).

That said, here is my year in review:


The Top 20:

1. John Isner 14 (28 years old)
2. Sam Querrey 46 (26 yo)
3. Tim Smyczek 89 (25 yo)
4. Michael Russell 92 (35 yo)
5. Donald Young 96 (24 yo)
6. Bradley Klahn 97 (23 yo)
7. Ryan Harrison 102 (21 yo)
8. Jack Sock 104 (21 yo)
9. Denis Kudla 115 (21 yo)
10. Rajeev Ram 127 (29)
11. Rhyne Williams 130 (22)
12. Wayne Odesnik 138 (27)
13. Alex Kuznetsov 141 (26)
14. James Blake* 153 (33, *retired, no longer on tour)
15. Steve Johnson 157 (23)
16. Bobby Reynolds 184 (31)
17. Tennys Sandgren 187 (22)
18. Robby Ginepri 212 (31)
19. Austin Krajicek 242 (23)
20. Bjorn Fratangelo 301 (20)

The most promising young players remain Ryan Harrison and Jack Sock who both have good baseline games, are maturing physically and both still just 21.

The biggest drop off compared to 2012 final rankings were Mardy Fish from 27 down to 375 and likely retiring, Andy Roddick who is no longer on tour, Querrey (22 to 46, or -24 spots), Brian Baker down from 61 to 355 (due to injury), and Harrison going from 69 to 102 (-33 spots).

The biggest jumps were Smyczek (+39), Sock (+46), Young (+94), Williams (+61), Sandgren (+37) and Klahn (+151) to name a few.

Player of the Year: John Isner

Pretty easy choice here, Issy made 4 ATP finals and was the only American to do so. He went 2-2 in those finals. He ended the year ranked the exact same as in 2012.

Most Improved Player of the Year: Bradley Klahn

Jumping up 151 spots in the rankings from 2012 to 2013, Klahn is now a top 100 ATP player. He did most of his damage in a month span in Australasia this past month tearing up the challenger fields. That epic run will give him a shot at some ATP level main draws in 2013.

Comeback Player of the Year: Donald Young

After a disaster 2012 campaign that saw him drop to ~200 in the world, DY is now back in the top 100 where he belongs based on his talent. He'll be back to playing more ATP level tour matches in 2013, though, so he'll have to prove he's matured enough this time around to handle it.