Americans at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships

The absence of Serena and Venus Williams from tennis for the past several months have had a large effect on American tennis, both for the men and the women. It has left this country without any legitimate title contenders in either draw at every major championship. Andy Roddick, the highest-ranked American man, has been able to successfully disappoint all American tennis fans with early exits at the last several majors. This year's Wimbledon was no different, as he bowed out to Feliciano Lopez in the third round in straight sets. Even with this loss, American tennis fans still have hope at this year's Wimbledon: the Williams sisters and Mardy Fish, who are both into the fourth round. This shows the ups and downs of American tennis in a nutshell.

However, there have been other positives at this Wimbledon for American tennis that do not involve the Williams sisters and Mardy Fish. Ryan Harrison, the 19 year-old who is known for his competitiveness on the court, made it through to the second round, only to lose a tough five-set match to the seventh-seeded David Ferrer. 28 year-old Alex Bogomolov Jr. made it throught to the third round, only to lose to Thomas Berdych, Mardy Fish's next opponent. The positives were not as easy to find on the women's side, where no American made it past the second round with the exception of Venus and Serena Williams.

The negatives for American tennis at this year's Championships have centered around Andy Roddick. The three-time Wimbledon finalist looked extremely solid in his first two wins. Knowing that his third-round opponent was Feliciano Lopez, Roddick knew he would have to play really well to advance. He played well enough to push each of the first two sets to tie-breaks, both of which he lost. With the match just about over, Roddick was broken late in the third set, and Lopez held serve to win the match 7-6 7-6 6-4. This was not the first disappointment Roddick has had since his last trip to the final at Wimbledon, which was two years ago. He has failed to make it past the quaterfinals at any major since he lost to Roger Federer in the 2009 final.

Now that we approach the second week at this year's Wimbledon Championships, it is not a surprise that the only Americans left are the Williams sisters and Mardy Fish. Both Serena and Venus are likely to at least reach the semifinals, which would put them both one win away from facing each other in the final. Fish, however, is set to face sixth-seeded Thomas Berdych, last year's finalist, in the fourth round on Monday. The tenth-seeded American knows what he has to do to win, but knows that it will be no easy task. Meanwhile, all American tennis fans are hoping Fish, Serena, and Venus all something left to make deep runs in the second week of this tournament, which would no doubt make most fans forget about the otherwise-disappointing first week at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships for American tennis players.