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Updated at 12:48 p.m., Friday, June 27, 2008

Tennis: Last American man — Bobby Reynolds — falls at Wimbledon

By Michelle Kaufman
McClatchy Newspapers

WIMBLEDON, England — And then there were none.

Bobby Reynolds, the 106th-ranked American, was beaten today by Feliciano Lopez, 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, leaving no U.S. men in the Wimbledon singles draw. It was the first time in the Open era that only one American made the third round.

The last American man to win a Grand Slam singles title was 2003 U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick. Roddick made the Wimbledon finals in 2004 and 2005 before losing to Roger Federer.

"I wouldn't have thought that I'd be the last one standing for the men, but James (Blake) and Andy (Roddick) had tough matches (Thursday)," Reynolds said. "You never know what can happen."

He said it is "obviously discouraging," but dismissed the suggestion that U.S. tennis is in a dire situation.

"We like to play on hard court, and that's the number one surface we usually do well on," he said. "I'm sure the guys will have a couple of weeks off before Indianapolis and L.A. and Washington, and then everyone will lead up to the U.S. Open. The year is long. The good thing about tennis is there's another match to get ready for."

He said he had high hopes for Americans at the U.S. Open.

"That's our best chance, but then, you're going up against Roger and Rafa, who will probably go down as two of the greatest players to play, so it's tough."

Happy Birthday "Kuzi": Fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, the least publicized of the world's top five players, celebrated her 23rd birthday on Friday with a 6-2, 6-4 third-round win against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.

She planned to celebrate by leaving Wimbledon Village and having dinner at a sushi restaurant in London. She doesn't have to play again until Monday, so she has time to relax. Kuznetsova celebrates her birthday at Wimbledon every year, so she has gotten used to the routine. She wakes up to dozens of messages from well-wishers, and tries to stay focused on the match. She remembers every birthday match vividly.

"The first one I remember for sure because I lost in the first round to Virginie Razzano and I had to stay to play doubles," she said. "It was the worst birthday and I was on my own in my room. My friends called me to have a cake with them, so it was nice, but still, it's a big disappointment. So definitely, it's important to have a win on my birthday."

Final word: Janko Tipsarevic, the Serbian who knocked Andy Roddick out in the second round, was asked whether his country's recent success in tennis is due to the fact that the players grew up poor and have more fight than kids in richer countries. His answer: "No, I don't believe in Rocky Balboa stories, that we don't have money when we were kids and now we fight more than the British. This is complete Hollywood story, which I don't believe in."

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(c) 2008, The Miami Herald.

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Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.