With the French Open nearly upon us, some in the modest cadre of American men in the top 100 are showing signs of increasing proficiency and confidence on clay. So it's time for the Racket Scientist to take a look at how they measure up on the red dirt. Let's take them in order of ranking, starting at the top.
No. 17 John Isner
He is 52-45 in his career on clay. That 54 percent winning percentage isn't the best among Americans, but at age 30, he's played far more matches than most of them. Isner has had clay-court wins over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Roger Federer, and he's also taken out high-value clay targets such as Nicolas Almagro, Juan Monaco, Tommy Robredo and others. Best of all, Isner might be playing the best clay tennis of his life this spring. His record is 8-4 this year, and he made the round of 16 at Monte Carlo and Rome and the quarterfinals at Madrid -- all Masters 1000 events. Isner could equal or surpass his 2014 fourth-round finish at the French Open.
No. 36 Jack Sock
With an overall clay-court record of 43-25, he has the best winning percentage (63 percent) for the Americans. But Sock is just 22, and he's played only 21 ATP Tour-level matches. He's done pretty well in those, winning 13 of 21. His best wins have been over Almagro, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Guillermo Garcia Lopez. Sock returned from surgery on his pelvis at the end of 2014 -- later than expected -- this spring, but he caught fire and won in Houston in April, defeating fellow countryman Sam Querrey. In 2014, Sock developed into a Grand Slam doubles champion who probably will factor in that event this year in Paris.
No. 38 Sam Querrey
At 27, perhaps the best way to describe his career on clay is to call it a wash. (He's 52-49; the numbers don't lie.) Querrey has had wins over the likes of former French Open champ Carlos Moya and Richard Gasquet -- and losses to Daniel Munoz de la Nava and Laurent Recouderc. In Houston in April, Querrey knocked off fellow countryman Steve Johnson and then a pair of tough Spaniards in Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco. But in the final, he lost to Sock, who then surpassed him to become the No. 2-ranked American. It was a very Querrey-like week.
No. 49 Donald Young
Young boasts a woeful 5-16 record on clay. If you count all pro matches though, the 25-year-old former prodigy has a winning clay-court record by a single win (38-37). Young is a feast-or-famine kind of guy; he'll go for months losing to everyone and anyone, and then begin to play well and rebuild his confidence and ranking. Unfortunately, Young appears to be in a down phase at the moment. He hasn't won a match (although he did advance one round in Miami when an opponent was forced to retire) since he posted a pair of nice wins on the hard courts of Indian Wells.
No. 55 Steve Johnson
He's charismatic in an all-American way. There's something about Johnson that everyone likes. Alas it isn't his clay-court game. He's 5-10 at the ATP level, 16-17 including all professional matches. But keep in mind that he's a 25-year-old late bloomer and a hard worker with a game that ought to work better than it has on clay (that sliced backhand can be useful on clay, for example). There's still upside with Johnson, as there is with Sock.
No. 75 Tim Smyczek
Smyczek deserves a lot of credit for carving out a niche for himself in a game dominated by bigger, stronger, faster and more powerful guys. The 5-foot-9 native of Milwaukee is not exactly a clay-court specialist. In fact, he's won just one tour-level match on clay (that glorious moment occurred in Houston in 2013), but he's 19-27 in all pro clay matches. Smyczek is smart, dedicated, level-headed and self-aware. Guys like that win matches -- so long as they get a decent draw. But that's a subject for another day that will come soon enough.