Wimbledon, England – It hardly seemed fair.
The last chance for the United States to avoid getting shut out of the Wimbledon singles quarterfinals for the first time in nearly a century rested with a woman ranked 62nd, who never played in a Grand Slam’s fourth round until Monday and was facing a two-time runner-up at majors.
Shenay Perry knew all too well she was the last American standing – “Everyone told me,” she sighed. – and that, plus the stage and opponent, overwhelmed her, adding up to a 6-2, 6-0 loss to No. 7 Elena Dementieva.
At least one U.S. player had reached the men’s or women’s quarterfinals at every Wimbledon since 1911, when zero women from the country and three men entered the tournament.
This year, nine men and 14 women from the United States were in the singles draws, including Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Venus Williams.
This is also the first time at any Grand Slam tournament since the 1976 Australian Open that no U.S. man or woman reached the quarterfinals.
“While it was great to get one last chance to see Andre Agassi, where are the next ones? I’m beginning to question the drive of some of these guys,” said John McEnroe, who’s calling Wimbledon matches for NBC. “It’s time to produce.”
China, meanwhile, produced its first Grand Slam quarterfinalist Monday: Li Na, who upset No. 10 Nicole Vaidisova.
And Finland put a man into the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time: Jarkko Nieminen, who beat Dmitry Tursunov 9-7 in the fifth set.
“The last few years – the last so many years – America has been really dominant in both men and women’s tennis,” Kim Clijsters said. “I’m definitely surprised that there’s no Americans left.”
The United States has won more men’s (33) and women’s (50) singles championships at Wimbledon than any other country.
Last year, three of the four singles finalists at the All England Club were Americans.
Now, Wimbledon will be the third Slam in a row without a men’s or women’s finalist from the United States.
“It’s a position I haven’t been in before,” said Perry, a 21-year-old based in Coral Springs, Fla. “When anyone’s in a position that they’re thrown into for the first time, and being the last American, it is a little nerve-racking.”
The most intriguing matchup in the men’s quarterfinals will be three-time champion Roger Federer against Mario Ancic, the last person to beat Federer on grass, in the first round here in 2002.
“It’s disappointing, because I like seeing the Americans going far,” Federer said. “They’ve had a great history.”