WIMBLEDON, England — Before Wimbledon was pushed back a week in tennis’ calendar last year, the Fourth of July was often a reminder of late-tournament riches for American players across the pond from home.
In 1999, Pete Sampras beat Andre Agassi in an all-American Independence Day men’s final. Andy Roddick fell just short in a Fourth of July final in 2004 against Roger Federer. Martina Navratilova won a sixth straight title in 1987 on the holiday.
Six Americans will play in fourth round matches — officially starting week two — on what is known as Manic Monday here, when all 16 Round of 16 matches take place. It’s the most U.S. players at this stage of Wimbledon since 2004, when seven players made it as far.
Serena and Venus Williams are the only players of the bunch who were around back then. They’re joined by CoCo Vandeweghe and Madison Keys on the women’s side, while Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey — the player who shocked world No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Saturday — have gone as far for the men.
“Maybe we won't get bashed in the media for once for at least a couple days,” Johnson said, only half joking. “We all have the talent and we all know we're capable.”
It will be a big day for American tennis in a sport in which the Williams sisters have held the mantle high for much of the last five years. Andy Roddick retired in 2012, the last American man to have won a Grand Slam singles title (the 2003 U.S. Open).
Since then the questions have come in — to players — irritatingly often: “What’s the state of American tennis?” “Can we return to our glory days?
“Well, it's not dead, and I'm really happy that we're having positive conversations about it for once,” added Keys, smiling coyly.
Querrey, 28, and Johnson, who is into the second week of a major for the first time in his career, are part of a lost generation of American men’s tennis: John Isner has led the way and knocked on the door of the top, but with the likes of Federer, Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray, the opportunities have been few and far between.
“The last ten years five guys have won every major, give or take one or two,” said Johnson. “It's one of those things… I think it comes in waves, and hopefully we have a lot of good guys coming up and hopefully they can push us and we can help them any way we can.”
That has been the approach for years now, since Patrick McEnroe was head of the U.S. Tennis Association’s player development branch, which is now led by Martin Blackman.
“I’m really emphasizing a system where we will play whatever role we can to help players maximize their potential,” Blackman said in a phone interview. “There is no such thing as a USTA player, there is only a Team USA player.”
Team USA, for its part, will hit the courts Monday at Wimbledon, all six players hoping for quarterfinal berths. On the women’s side, the influence of the Williams sisters shines through, even as they continue to grow their respective legacies.
“Players like CoCo and Madison were just little kids when Venus and Serena came on the scene,” former No. 1 Chris Evert told USA TODAY Sports. “They have been on the tour for 15-plus years. We have been wondering when this next group is going to happen, well, guess what? It’s happening.”
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