WIMBLEDON, England – Taylor Dent is not surprised or offended when confronted by questions about the troubled state of American tennis. The 24-year-old Californian is the second-highest seeded American at this year’s Wimbledon, 22 places behind no. 2 seed Andy Roddick, who plays today. Only nine American men earned places in the draw, and for the first time in 37 years, only one of them is seeded inside the top 16.

It’s a far cry from the last decade, which was the best in the history of American tennis. Since 1989, Americans have won 28 Grand Slams, beginning with Michael Chang’s improbable French Open title. Chang, Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, and Andre Agassi used to threaten at every tournament, but Roddick is now the only legitimate hope, especially after the aging and injured Agassi withdrew from Wimbledon last week.

“It is worrisome to me,” Patrick McEnroe, the U.S. Davis Cup captain, said recently. “There are some young kids coming up who are very talented, but they are a few years away.”

Dent has heard all this before. But to him, there is less to fret about than some observers believe.

“Everybody out here is so good and it’s such a fine line between being 30 in the world and 40 in the world, where most of the Americans normally are, and top 10,” Dent said after his first round victory yesterday against qualifier Dick Norman in five sets, 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-7(7), 6-1 on a warm, muggy day at the All England Club, where temperatures reached the low 80s.”No, they are not no. 1s, but they certainly have the potential to be up there and play for it.”

It’s a hopeful outlook, but the facts suggest otherwise. Of the other Americans in the draw, one, James Blake, was a wildcard, while another, Jeff Morrison, was a qualifier. Two others, Justin Gimelstob and Paul Goldstein, failed to qualify but were given a spot when other players withdrew. Both Blake and Morrison lost their first-round matches yesterday, while Gimelstob won in straight sets.

In many ways, Dent epitomizes the waywardness of American men’s tennis, the inability of many players of his ilk – Blake, Mardy Fish, Robby Ginepri – to reach the top echelon and remain there consistently.

Dent’s failures can largely be attributed to terrible luck in terms of health. Back problems, knee problems, ankle problems – Dent has known them all. And while he has shown flashes of brilliance – he dominated Agassi for two sets in the fourth round of the 2003 U.S. Open – Dent almost always ends up with ordinary results (in that match, he retired with an injury).

For the last two months, Dent has nursed an ankle injury that took six doctors to diagnose. The final prognosis: An inflamed tendon in his foot had pulled a tiny piece of bone from his ankle. Since the chip was found, Dent has responded well to a cortisone shot.

He also recently parted ways with his coach, Francisco Montana. Having grown up with tennis – his father, Phil, was a professional and still coaches – Dent said he no longer feels the need for constant attention.

“My opinions are very strong on how people win and how people lose,” he said. “And if I don’t see eye to eye with somebody, there’s not sense in butting heads.”

Part of his plan is counterintuitive for those who know Dent’s serve-and-volley game. Rather than work on his weak ground strokes and service returns, Dent said he is better off improving the consistency and placement of his already effective serve. He feels he has always had the ability to break serve, despite suggestions to the contrary. He even cites statistics to prove it (he was once ranked in among the top five players in breaking serve, he said).

And it is not as if Dent is merely justifying a desire to practice something he finds easy or enjoyable, rather than challenging. “I hate hitting serves,” he said. “It’s the most boring part of tennis.”

Though Dent’s mediocre results put him in the same league as most of his compatriots, his style is utterly different. As grass-court tennis goes, Dent has one of the prettiest games to watch. He is a throwback, a player who relies on angles and touch and reflexes more than a deadly weapon. When Dent wins points, he generally earns them.

Against Norman, a 6-foot, 8-inch lefthander with a booming serve, Dent looked ready to go down for the count. Leading 6-5 in the fourth-set tiebreak, he drew Norman into the net with a low angle to the backhand side. Norman sliced the ball crosscourt, and Dent lunged for it. But the net knocked down his stretch forehand volley before it could find the open court.

Norman saved another match point and looked primed for an upset when Dent missed an easy backhand volley to lose the set. In the fifth set, however, the 34-year-old Belgian fell apart.

Asked about the level of his fitness after the 3 hour, 22 minute match, Dent offered a candid answer.

“Zero,” he said. “For the two months I was off, I did nothing.”

To keep himself from injury, Dent said he has tried just about everything, including weight training, yoga, and Pilates. So far, nothing has worked.

“Maybe I need to do everything once every different day,” he said. “Maybe that’s the trick.”

If he finds the answer, Dent can be counted on to tell the rest of the Americans his secret.