Venus Williams is USA's last hope

PARIS -- As the French Open turns the corner into a second week, Americans again are struggling to find their footing.

For the second year in a row only one American will be on the courts during the second week of the world's most prestigious clay-court event, a streak that is becoming troublingly routine.

"Lone flag waving gently in the wind" is how No.11 seed Venus Williams described the feeling after rallying Sunday to beat No.7 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Williams, the only American left, is in the quarterfinals for the fourth time and next faces No.16 Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic, who upset top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-2.

James Blake, the last American remaining in the men's draw, lost Sunday to French teenager Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-1), 5-7, 6-4 in a match suspended Saturday by darkness.

"I definitely think I've done a good job, but there's obviously always room for improvement," says No.8 seed Blake, who won two rounds at Roland Garros for the first time.

Last year only Lindsay Davenport advanced past the third round for the USA. No American man besides Blake has reached the third round here since Andre Agassi and Vince Spadea in 2003.

"The last three years have been grim," says U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe. "If we start having those results in the other Slams, we're in trouble."

The lackluster performance has U.S. tennis officials, observers and players wondering again what they can do to improve prospects on the slow, slippery clay in Europe. Most point to the usual factors discussed this time of year. Among them:

*Americans don't spend enough time playing on clay as juniors, so they never learn how to move on it well.

*They have offensive, power games that don't translate well to the patience and point construction needed on clay.

*They don't prepare properly, skipping the bulk or part of the European clay-court season.

"When you don't play enough clay-court tournaments leading up to the French Open, that's hard to do," No.1 Roger Federer says.

Injuries, too, have been a factor. Top Americans, including Davenport and former Roland Garros champs Agassi and Serena Williams, are sidelined.

Andy Roddick, the top-ranked American, arrived in Paris on a gimpy left ankle and retired during a first-round loss to Alberto Martin of Spain.

United States Tennis Association officials say they are concerned but not alarmed.

"I don't think that performance on clay should be the benchmark to judge U.S. tennis," says Arlen Kantarian, chief executive of professional tennis for the USTA.

It's easy to forget, Kantarian points out, that U.S. men went nearly 35 years between French Open singles titles by Tony Trabert in 1955 and Michael Chang in 1989.

The USTA is close to moving a training center from Key Biscayne, Fla., to the Chris Evert Academy in Boca Raton, Fla. The facility has more clay courts.

But Kantarian is wary of making a major shift to clay, especially considering American prowess in the other three majors.

"We don't want to do anything that takes away historically from our success on hardcourts and grass," he says.

McEnroe says he is "disappointed" in the overall performance of the men but heartened by Blake's near-win against Monfils and his second-round victory against Spain's Nicolas Almagro, one of the best dirt-ballers in the world.

"The positive is that we are still major factors in three of the Slams, and I'd rather have that than be a threat on one surface," McEnroe says.

Federer says the USA has nothing to worry about. The reason is simply the depth of men's tennis today.

"They didn't grow up on this stuff, but they can still play on it, they can still be dangerous," says Federer, who beat Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in a fourth-round match Sunday.

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