Bobby Reynolds’ four-set defeat at the hands of Feliciano Lopez in the third round on Friday might make this the worst Wimbledon results ever for American men’s tennis. The last time only one American man reached the third round at Wimbledon was 1926, but only three Americans were in the draw then and the reigning dominant player in the game, Bill Tilden, did not play. And Howard Kinsey, the only American to reach the third round that year, went on to make the finals, losing to Jean Borotra, one of the famed Four Musketeers.

This year, 12 American men played and went a collective 5-12, including second round upsets of both Andy Roddick and James Blake. This follows up on a French Open where only one American, Robby Ginepri, reached the fourth round. At this rate, there could possibly be no American men in the top ten by year’s end — at present, Blake is eight and Roddick six. I expect with the hard court season starting up in the states, the American contingent will do better. They can’t do much worse.

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