Grand Slams Are Now Foreign Affairs

With one exception -- Serena Williams in 2012 -- the four major tennis tournaments are not kind to its host entrants.

Every year, the British press moans about the time it's been since one of its own hoisted the hardware at Wimbledon. Well, if the Pommies would look past their own shores, they'd notice that this isn't a unique phenomenon.

Here is a list of the last local citizens to win a Grand Slam singles title in their home nations:

Australian Open ...	Mark Edmonson (1976)	Chris O'Neil (1978)
French Open ...	Yannick Noah (1983)	Mary Pierce (2000)
Wimbledon ...	Fred Perry (1936)	Virginai Wade (1977)
US Open ...	Andy Roddick (2003)	Serena Williams (2012)

Pierce was born in Canada to a French mother and American father, thus being a citizen of three countries. So the French had a potpourri of chances going for them.

Perry was also a world champion in table tennis, so maybe the British need to teach more versatility in their up-and-coming players.

The Aussies claim to have more sports medalists per capita than any other country. Apparently, none of them pick up a tennis racquet anymore.

At least the American champions stay current. Maybe they should run for Congress and apply those skills to the debt ceiling debates.