From the time of Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe to the 90s era dominated by Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, it was always a given that US tennis players would challenge for Grand Slam titles and Wimbledon championships.

However, not since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open has a North American player won a major title which has prompted plenty of questions about where things have gone wrong.

Is it down to globalisation and the spreading of talent across the globe or are there deeper issues at hand?

As Off The Ball's resident American Donny Mahoney said, "there were 46 Grand Slams won by American players between 1974 and 2003 - more than one a year".

And as he put it, the next great hope for American tennis is a player called Jack Sock ...