Many countries in Europe and South America have produced strong clay court players, but Argentina and Spain lead the pack.  Several talented Argentinean tennis players, especially men, have followed in the footsteps of Grand Slam champions, Guillermo Vilas and Gabriela Sabatini.  There were 11, 5, 8 respectively male singles players in the 2006 French, Wimbledon and U.S. Open main draws while there were only 3, 3, 1 women respectively.  In contrast Spain, which also has a strong history of Grand Slam champions including Manolo Santana, Andres Gimeno, Sergi Bruguera and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, has more players competing in the Grand Slam main draws, i.e. 15, 14, 13 men and 7, 6, 5 women respectively in the French, Wimbledon and U.S. Open.  Based on these numbers, it seems clear that Spain has developed more players who can be successful on faster surfaces.  However, Argentina does have David Nalbandian, a former Wimbledon finalist, with a smooth and solid game who has been near the very top of men’s tennis for the past couple years.  At the same time, Spain has several former French Champions still competing on tour, i.e. Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero and of course, Rafael Nadal.  So will the next “claycourter” to win the U.S. Open hail from Argentina, Spain or possibly another “clay court country”?