Brad Gilbert’s Hopes for American Tennis and Verdict on Novak Djokovic

Brad Gilbert hopes an American will win a Grand Slam in the next five years and believes the talent is there.

It’s been a while since an American has won a Grand Slam singles title. Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003, the last time he won the title before a 21-year drought threatens to begin.

Gilbert believes there are American men who can win Grand Slams in the next five years, but he wouldn’t want to burden them with a prediction.

“I mean, it’s been 82 years since an American won a Grand Slam, and that was in 2003, Andy Roddick,” Gilbert said in Paris ahead of the 2024 Olympics.

“We’d like to put an end to that. We’ve had a lot more success with the women. We’ve got four American men in the top 20, but of course we’d like to see someone win a major and we’re hoping to have a bunch of good young players. Hopefully that happens in the next five years.”

Gilbert declined to comment on the recent clashes between Novak Djokovic and fans, but said all eyes should be on the great man’s tennis game.

“I would concentrate on his tennis. His tennis is incredible considering he only had surgery five weeks ago.

“During the whole training week I saw him improve a little bit every day. Hardly any player could be in this situation with the rapid change that the operation has brought about.

“That’s the most surprising thing.”

Gilbert was also asked what Nadal’s final comeback in tennis might be. He said it was the Spaniard’s prerogative to decide when and how he would exit.

“He’ll probably never be at his best again, but I think every athlete wants to be able to retire in his own way, above all. He wants to make the decision that maybe it’s time to retire. He’s had so many injuries the last two years that he probably hasn’t had a period where he really felt healthy and that’s what he wants to know more than anything before he retires, what his game is like when he’s completely healthy.”

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Gilbert believes that the best players are those who know how to win when they are not at their best.

“Their games look great, but they would all tell you that the most important games to win are probably early in the tournament, maybe if things didn’t go well that day and they found a way to win and then maybe tomorrow they look great,” Gilbert said of the big three.

“That’s the subtle thing about being great: There’s probably a large percentage of matches where they’re average, but their average is better than everyone else’s. But you still have to figure out how to be successful on those days when you’re not feeling 100 percent physically or mentally. You need an ugly day to be 100 percent beautiful.”