Optimism for American tennis in 2007

A lot of ink got spilled and keystrokes logged on the malaise in American tennis this season. No U.S. player made it to the semifinal round of any Grand Slam event until Andy Roddick surged to the U.S. Open final. The Williams sisters’ long absence deprived the women’s game of two proven headliners in every sense of that word. Lindsay Davenport spent much of the year sidelined, and Andre Agassi and Martina Navratilova bowed out, making 2007 the first year since 1981 that neither will compete under U.S. colors.

All this teeth-gnashing might not be doing justice to the big picture, however. Breaking down the numbers reveals a few less obvious trends.

Click here to read the entire article at ESPN.