INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — False dawns in American men’s tennis? There have been quite a few in the last 20 years here in the California desert and in more well-watered parts of the pro circuit.
So, it is unquestionably wise not to get carried away in a sport the Europeans still rule, as they have since a smooth-moving Swiss man named Roger Federer calmed his nerves and slipped into a higher gear in 2004 to leave Andy Roddick in his rearview mirror at the top of the rankings.
Since then, tall and good-natured American men in the shadows, like John Isner and Sam Querrey, have had to field countless variations of one question: “What has happened to American men’s tennis?