Fallen stars and faded stripes at Aus Open

Christopher O'Leary reports, The Americans have hit the rocks at this year’s Australian Open.

Time and time again the US have produced big names with big games, personalities and hype that dominate world tennis.

But now the Williams sisters and Andy Roddick, who suffered a demoralising 6-4 1-6 6-3 6-4 defeat yesterday from crowd favourite Marcos Baghdatis, have failed and high tailed it out of Tullamarine without making the quarter finals.

Venus was clearly outclassed on Day 1, and Serena lacked the fitness to overcome Daniela Hantuchova in the third round. Roddick looked a broken man, as he could not work out how to beat the 20-year-old Cypriot.

Before such a vocal crowd, Baghdatis played with such maturity and class in the biggest game of his life against the No.2 seed.

Now Lindsay Davenport is the last Yank standing at Melbourne, amazing given the dominance the country has held over the game for so long.

The world No.1 will even struggle against bookies’ favourite Justine Henin-Hardenne ($3.75 with TAB Sportsbet) because she is nursing an ankle injury.

Normally whether it was Agassi, Seles or `Perfect Pete’, a second week spot was normally cemented in the Grand Slam for the world superpower.

In the last 15 years seven Americans, three men and four women, have taken out 17 Australian Opens.

But the US’s woes in 2006 proves that at least Australia is not the only tennis nation at a loss to match this boom of young talent from Argentina to Slovakia, not just this time from California to New York.

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