When Will A Black Man Win A Grand Slam Singles Title?

Although the media say men’s tennis is exciting, the truth is the ATP Tour has been very boring for a long time. Men’s tennis is basically a white sport with a few sprinkes of colour.

A black man hasn’t won a grand slam since 1983. Yannick Noah of France, won the French Open twenty-seven years ago but a black manhas failed to win another  grand slam.

An African-American man hasn’t won a grand slam singles title in thirty-five years!

If a black man won a grand slam singles title this would help black tennis. A black male tennis champion can inspire black boys to play tennis.

The Williams Sisters are now veterans, they have been very involved in black tennis and encouraging black youth to play the game.

The dilemma is, tennis is a very expensive sport to play. It takes time for a young tennis player to develop. The equipment, coaching, and court time is very expensive.

The Williams Sisters have already established themselves as legends in women’s tennis. The legendary Althea Gibson broke the colour barrier when she won the Wimbledon singles titles in 1957 and 1958 but Venus and Serena took black women’s tennis to the next level. Venus and Serena made women’s tennis profitable and brought new fans to the sport.

The quandary is, the black men have not progressed and reached the level of the Williams Sisters. James Blake, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, and Gael Monfils have all reached the ATP Tour top ten but they have failed to win grand slam singles titles.

Blake, Monfils, and Tsonga are attractive, and extremely gifted tennis players. In France, Monfils and Tsonga are the most talented male tennis players of their generation and the French public love them.

Gael Monfils of France is a sexy, talented, and athletic tennis player but he lacks the mental toughness to become a champion.

Today, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia defeated the Frenchman 6-3 7-6 6-4 in the third round of Wimbledon. Monfils had multiple chances to win the second set tiebreaker but was passive and after that he basically gave up.

Monfils has been ranked in the ATP Tour top ten he is six foot four, extremely quick, he also very physically fit but he just refuses to be aggressive on the tennis court. I am tired of the excuses people make for Monfils, it is time for Gael to become more aggressive and take chances in his matches.

However, Gael is only twenty three years old, he turns twenty four in September but I fear time is running out for him to win a grand slam.

Gael has only won two ATP Tour titles in his career yet he has lost multiple finals. Two years ago at the French Open Gael made his breakthrough and reached the semifinals and he entered the top ten. I thought Gael was on his way to becoming a champion but I fear he has regressed.

Meanwhile, James Blake is a lost cause he has a chronic knee injury and he was always an underachiever.

Blake is the male Anna Kournikova, he is very handsome, and charismatic but he has never proven he has the grit, the determination to become a champion.

In the year 2005, James Blake almost defeated Andre Agassi in the quarterfinals of the US OPEN but he choked and lost the match.

Blake has not recovered from his astonishing defeat at the 2005 US OPEN.

Some people say James Blake is just too nice, I think James Blake just doesn’t believe has the ability to become a champion.

Blake is now thirty years old he has dropped out of the ATP Tour top 100 and I fear it is too late for Blake to reach his potential.

One of Blake’s problems is, he refused to fire his childhood coach Brian Barker when he a top player. Many tennis fans and the media felt that Barker didn’t have

the expertise to make become develop into a champion. Blake and Barker are no longer working together but his time has passed.

Blake hasn’t reached a grand slam final in his career even though he was won 10 ATP Tour titles and reached a career high of number four in the world.

I think Jo Wilfried Tsonga has the mental toughness that his countryman Gael Monfils lacks but I am not sure he will become a champion? Tsonga reached the Australian Open finals two years ago and lost to Novak Djokovic.

I believe Tsonga has the grit that Blake and Monfils lack. Tsonga is inconsistent, he can play great tennis one day and terrible tennis the next.

However, my belief is Tsonga is the one I feel can win a grand slam but he has to play up to his potential to win. Tsonga has a complete game he has a huge serve, excellent groundstrokes, he volleys very well and he believes in himself.

I wonder, when will a black man ever win a grand slam singles title again? Only time will tell when a black man will break the colour barrier again in men’s tennis and win a grand slam singles title.