I agree w/ Andy:

During periods when men's tennis has reached its popularity peak in the United States, it has been spurred by rivalries between Americans.

John McEnroe-Jimmy Connors and Andre Agassi-Pete Sampras were the most prominent ones in the past 25 years. Agassi and Sampras also were challenged by Jim Courier and Michael Chang.

Andy Roddick, 21, is waiting for his rival or rivals to arrive. "It's a definite necessity for American players to be playing well to promote interest," Roddick said in a conference call last month.

Heading into this week's RCA Championships at the Indianapolis Tennis Center, defending tournament champion Roddick is ranked No. 2 on the ATP Tour.

Agassi, 34, who withdrew from the RCAs on Saturday, is rated No. 10.

The next-highest ranked U.S. player is Mardy Fish, who is No. 18. Other top young Americans are Taylor Dent (2 , Robby Ginepri (36) and James Blake (44). Ginepri is 21 years old, Fish 22, Dent 23 and Blake 24.

I miss the good ole days.

Posted by: Lawrenkm at 08:31 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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