NEW YORK -- There was a time before Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Michael Chang won their collective 25 Grand Slam singles titles, a time when John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors dominated the landscape. And then, in the Spring of 1989, 17-year-old Chang went out and won the French Open.

	Michael Chang is losing in the first round of most tournaments lately.

"I think me winning was kind of a confidence booster for all of us," Chang said Monday at the U.S. Open. "I'm sure they were saying, 'Shoot, how many times have I beaten Michael? He can go out and win the French Open? Why can't I go out and win a Grand Slam?'

"It's kind of a chain reaction. You kind of feed off that kind of inspiration, that kind of confidence."

Indeed, Sampras broke through in the 1990 U.S. Open, Courier followed with the 1991 French Open and Agassi arrived at Wimbledon in 1992.

As America's finest find themselves in the twilight of their careers -- Courier is retired, Chang is rarely dangerous, Sampras hasn't won a tournament in 13 months and Agassi is 31 years old -- a new talent pool has formed, teeming with enthusiasm and potential. Now, who will step forward and provide critical mass? Who will light the fuse this time?

"We're a pretty hungry group," said 20-year-old Taylor Dent on Tuesday afternoon. "The way we're playing, it's going to happen eventually. In my mind, though, the fuse is already lit."

This U.S. Open already has been marked by an unusually forceful American presence on the men's side. Sampras and Agassi, of course, both won their opening matches. Agassi aside, three U.S. players advanced to the second round on Monday and two of them were Dent and Robby Ginepri, who is only 18. No. 20 seed Jan-Michael Gambill, 24, defeated former U.S. Open finalist Cedric Pioline on Tuesday in straight sets for his first Grand Slam win of the season.

Andy Roddick defeated Slava Dosedel in the second featured match Tuesday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. Also on Tuesday, James Blake, 21, defeated David Sanchez in straight sets and draws the tough second-round assignment of No. 4 seed Lleyton Hewitt. Qualifier Jack Brasington, 24, defeated Gianluca Pozzi in a dramatic fifth-set tiebreaker and must now face, of all people, Roddick.

Out of 20 American men at the U.S. Open, 11 advanced to the second round.

"I think that tennis just kind of rolls like that," Gambill said. "Michael was the best, quicker than the other guys. He was better than Andre and Pete and Jim at first. They sort of caught up to him.

"There was a rivalry between them all. They all wanted to be better than the other one, at least in their own minds. It was healthy for the game."

This is precisely the environment Patrick McEnroe has tried to foster as the U.S. Davis Cup captain.

"I talk to the guys a lot about pushing each other and supporting each other," McEnroe said Tuesday. "It's exciting. There's a great, positive aura about what's happening with our men's tennis."

Exhibit A, of course, is Roddick, a Nebraskan who turns 19 on Thursday. Roddick, the No. 18 seed, was scheduled to play Slava Dosedel in Tuesday night's second prime-time match at the National Tennis Center. Roddick, who won the junior title here last year, is attempting to become only the third man to follow a Grand Slam junior title with a senior title; Australia's Ken Rosewall and Mats Wilander of Sweden are the others.

Roddick announced himself earlier this year, debuting in Davis Cup play with a victory against George Bastl in February. The next month he upset former No. 1 players Marcelo Rios and Sampras at the Ericsson Open in Miami. In April, he embarked on a 12-match winning streak on clay and won consecutive titles in Atlanta and Houston. In July, he defeated No. 1-ranked Gustavo Kuerten on the way to the quarterfinals in Montreal and earlier this month Roddick won his first hard-court title in Washington.

"This year I'm [No.] 18 in the world going in, and last year I was just happy to be getting the chance to even participate," Roddick said last week from his home in Boca Raton, Fla. "I definitely feel like I belong there a little bit now."

Agassi, for one, agrees.

"Andy has a great game," Agassi said Monday night. "He certainly has a huge serve. He's a real good athlete. He has a big forehand. I'm sure he's only going to get better. The rest falls within the character and the champion qualities of any particular individual. And that's the part of sports that is in everybody's hands.

"I can tell you, it's mighty hard to win championships, you know. Somewhere through all that, it will play itself out."

	Taylor Dent set a tournament record when his serve topped out at 144 mph at Wimbledon.

While Roddick and Gambill are the leading lights of the new generation, apparently there is more help on the way. Dent and Ginepri were surprisingly easy winners on Monday.

Dent dusted Karim Alami of Morocco 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in a match that required less than two hours. This was no minor matter; Alami has been ranked as high as No. 25 in the world. Dent is big and strong, and his serve is barely visible. He popped one at 144 mph at Wimbledon this year, a tournament record.

Dent reached the quarterfinals in Los Angeles last month, his best effort as a pro. Now he has a chance to advance to the third round because Argentine Mariano Zabaleta upset No. 8 seed Sebastien Grosjean Tuesday in straight sets, leaving Dent an opening. Greg Rusedski looms in the third round.

Ginepri, who attended his senior prom this spring in Georgia, made his Grand Slam debut with a convincing 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 victory against Harel Levy in a mere 93 minutes. Ginepri was the runner-up last year here to Roddick in the junior tournament and now faces the formidable Roger Federer in the second round.

On Tuesday, Dent and Ginepri were basking in the glory of their first-round victories. Not one but two USA network camera crews were buzzing around Practice Courts 10 and 11 Tuesday, at the outer reaches of the National Tennis Center, interviewing the two young Americans. Dent particularly seemed to enjoy meeting Summer Sanders.

"Some perk, huh?" he asked, sweat dripping off his chin.

According to McEnroe, Roddick's success could translate to group success.

"The Dents and Ginepris of the world see what's happened with Andy and it's encouraging," McEnroe said. "It wouldn't surprise me to see him break through here. He's got a good draw. Maybe it's a stretch, but he's jumped over every hurdle so far."

The Dents, Ginepris, Roddicks and Gambills have been playing each other for years on the junior level. Now, will a chemistry develop on the professional level?

"It's very important to have those rivalries like Andre and Pete," Gambill said. "I would love to have a rivalry with Andy. He's my good friend. On the court it would be fun to go out and play in big tournaments, further in rounds, keep having a chance to play each other. I think it would be great for American tennis."

Agassi says it won't be easy.

"When I came along, it was toward the end of McEnroe and Connors' run," Agassi said. "I think I felt a lot and got asked a lot of questions about, in a sense, kind of filling that void that was going to be left.

"I think the pressure part is really what you make of it as a player. At the end of the day, the more pressure there is, the more importance is on watching the ball and moving your feet and executing. That all boils down to how somebody handles the situation. I think true competitors find a place to kind of put all that.

"There will be a lot of pressure after this generation. We left a lot of titles to America. We've given a lot of great matches in finals of Slams between myself and Jim and Pete and Michael. It will be a lot to live up to, but not impossible."

Chang thinks -- hopes, anyway -- that day will come.

"You have a lot of talented American players that hopefully will make their mark and have a good year and be able to build on that," Chang said. "It's going to be important the next year to back up those results. Otherwise, guys aren't going to have that kind of intimidation factor. No longer in their mentality is, 'I don't want to lose to Andy.' Then come the next year, it's like, 'Oh, I get a chance to play Andy.'

"Hopefully," he said, "these guys will be able to step it up and continue to improve and take their tennis to a new level."

Greg Garber is a senior writer at ESPN.com.