Russell Carries American Hopes Into Week 5

As fans are still coming down from the high of one of the greatest Major finals in history, it can be easy to forget that the tennis season continues in full swing tomorrow. While the WTA does not have any tournaments scheduled for the coming week, the ATP World Tour has a slate of three tournaments: The Open Sud de France in Montpellier, the PBZ Indoors in Zagreb, Croatia, and the VTR Open in Vina del Mar, Chile. Since the taxing two weeks of the Australian Open have just concluded, there are few top players participating in this week's events. And given that the first American hardcourt swing kicks off in San Jose on February 13, most Americans have also opted to take this week off. Except for one. Michael Russell will take the court in Montpellier as the lone American to watch in the week ahead. While Russell does not have the name recognition of Andy Roddick, John Isner, or James Blake, the 33 year-old has been a consistent presence in the top 100 over the past several year...