Why there's genuine optimism for the U.S. contingent in Paris
— -- It was a pillar of the conventional wisdom in tennis for ages: Americans don't like red clay. They can't play on red clay. They wouldn't know the Roland Garros slide from the Cuban slide. It's all about grass and hard courts -- serving bombs, crushing volleys, ripping forehands -- for players from the U.S.
Sure, there have been exceptions, almost all of them on the women's side. Serena Williams has scooped the trophy out of the red dirt in Paris two of the past three years. Jennifer Capriati was the French Open champion in 2001. And, of course, there was Chris Evert, who won the French Open seven times.
Traditionally, though, the American audience had little to get excited about at this time of year -- especially in comparison to the grass and hard-court segments.
That's changed. It has changed dramatically at both ends of the competence spectrum. The U.S. has become skilled on the clay courts.
With that, here's where the American players, women and men, stand heading into Roland Garros, starting with world No. 1 Serena Williams, who beat another U.S. stalwart, Madison Keys, in Sunday's Italian Open final:
No. 1 Serena Williams
2015 result: Champion
There were numerous doubts raised about the 34-year-old, 21-time Grand Slam singles champ in recent months as she entered the Italian Open (the final major tune-up for Roland Garros) without winning a tournament. But she ripped through a varied menu of opponents to win the tournament without losing a set, which leaves her the favorite once again to triumph in Paris.
No. 14 Venus Williams
2015 result: Lost first round vs. Sloane Stephens
She'll be 36 shortly after the tournament, but she has a tendency to flare up and still play some great tennis in spurts. Never write off a proven champion.
No. 21 Sloane Stephens
2015 result: Lost fourth round vs. No. 1 Serena Williams
Although Stephens hasn't developed into the reliable top-10 player almost everyone predicted, she is still just 23 and enormously talented. She's hit the fourth-round wall at the French Open for four years in a row. It's time for a breakout, and it could be in a spectacular way.
No. 24 Madison Keys
2015 result: Lost third round vs. No. 24 Timea Bacsinszky
Keys is ranked No. 24 and coming off a brilliant tournament in Rome, where it took an in-form Serena Williams in the final to stop her. Although Keys is famous for her all-American atomic serve and lashing forehand, two of the three finals she's played have been on clay (Rome and Charleston). Granted, the green Har-Tru of Charleston is a faster playing surface than red clay, but it's still clay. Keys is a legitimate threat to win.
No. 56 Christina McHale
2015 result: Lost first round vs. No. 114 Lourdes Dominguez Lino
McHale is rolling into Paris with some good wins -- and a lot of effort -- under her belt. She's had recent wins against Ana Ivanovic and Karolina Pliskova. McHale plays an inordinate number of three-setters. She ought to have plenty of stamina.
No. 66 Irina Falconi
2015 result: Lost third round vs. No. 72 Julia Goerges
Falconi was barely inside the top 100 in early April when she sliced through the field to win a clay event in Bogota, Columbia. She has struggled to back it up but has a chance to get back in the groove in Paris.
No. 76 Louisa Chirico
2015 result: Lost first round vs. No. 9 Ekaterina Makarova
Twenty years old on Monday, Chirico won six matches in Madrid (including a walkover issued by No. 4 seed Victoria Azarenka) as she advanced to the semifinals. She's a big hitter with excellent athleticism and a good attitude. Red clay is her favorite surface.
U.S. women's wild card, No. 176 Taylor Townsend
2015 result: Lost first round vs. No. 65 Tereza Smitkova
Townsend was ranked No. 130 at this time last year, so she's slipped a bit. But she earned a French Open spot by winning the USTA wild-card playoffs.
Men
No. 16 John Isner
2015 result: Lost second round vs. No. 45 Jeremy Chardy
Isner's place in the tennis history books is already guaranteed, thanks to his marathon 2010 Wimbledon match against Nicolas Mahut. Isner has amassed his most Grand Slam wins at the US Open, but the 31-year-old's best individual wins have been on clay. (This includes a Davis Cup win against Roger Federer.) Plus, during the past three years, Isner has consistently done better at Roland Garros than at Wimbledon. Isner avoided the Euroclay this year. We'll see if it hurt or helped.
No. 27 Jack Sock
2015 result: Lost fourth round vs. No. 6 Rafael Nadal
No shame in having lost to Nadal last year. Sock loves the red clay. He was a finalist in Houston this past April, and his results in Madrid and Rome were good, if not great. He has a Courier-like game and might be the best U.S. hope after Serena.
No. 34 Steve Johnson
2015 result: Lost third round vs. No. 8 Stan Wawrinka
Johnson lost to the eventual champ last year. He is a hard worker and a student of the game. He had hard luck in Madrid and Rome, but he's too smart not to do well on clay at some point.
No. 36 Sam Querrey
2015 result: Lost first round vs. No. 46 Borna Coric
Querrey blows hot and cold, but he had a nice win against hard-charging Frenchman Lucas Pouille in Madrid. If his big serve begins to click, Querrey can do a lot of damage on the red clay of Roland Garros.
No. 56 Denis Kudla
2015 result: Lost first round vs. No. 187 Andrea Arnaboldi
Kudla has taken big strides since losing to Arnaboldi in qualifying last year. Kudla is a smart and versatile player who will take any opportunity he's offered.
No. 73 Taylor Fritz
2015 result: DNP
The 18-year-old is considered one of the great hopes for the American game, but he's more Pete Sampras than Jim Courier. Clay is not Fritz's métier, but he's so talented that anything is possible.
No. 81 Donald Young
2015 result: Lost first round vs. No. 64 Santiago Giraldo
Young has been hard at work on the Challenger circuit since Houston in April. His results have been so-so against so-so competition.
U.S. Men's wild card, No. 116 Bjorn Fratangelo
2015 result: DNP
Fratangelo was only the second American (after John McEnroe) to win the French Open junior title. He did it in 2011 but has struggled in the interim. Fratangelo won the USTA wild-card playoff this year.
"He's won Junior French, and he's obsessed with red clay," Keys said in her Rome news conference Friday, referring to Fratangelo. "He's a weirdo."
