THE LAST DAYS OF AN AMERICAN ERA.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

There could be history made at Wimbledon's famed Centre Court today, a touchstone for U.S. tennis.

Two American women are in the finals, Lindsay Davenport and Venus Williams.

Nothing historic in itself - it's the 20th time tennis' grandest grand slam has featured an all-American final, and that doesn't count the seven times naturalized citizen Martina Navratilova went up against an American.

Yet this might be the final time that two American women square off here, or in any other significant tennis tournament.

Take it in and wave goodbye. A last hurrah, an almost unexplainable finale to a golden time that seemed would never end.

There is a torch to pass, but no one reaching to accept it - a remarkable run seems near its end.

There appears no young U.S. woman ready to step onto the international stage, no future star emerging from the junior circuit, no electrifying youngster in pigtails demanding the world's attention.

Always the next star seemed to await. After World War II, the next 10 consecutive Wimbledon finals were all-American affairs.

There always was an Althea Gibson, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Davenport or the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena - all former Wimbledon champions - ready to emerge, but not now.

Now all the up-and-coming players come from some place other than the United States. Of the first 13 seeded women at Wimbledon, seven were from Russia alone.

In addition to instant superstar Maria Sharapova, there are enough current multisyllable stars from the former Soviet Union to leave American tongues tied in knots until the next cold war: Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova, Anastasia Myskina, Vera Zvonareva, Elena Likhovtseva.

What's more, most of the best juniors are Russians, too.

Where is the next great American woman?

``There's just no one,'' Davenport said this week in England. ``Go down the list of players. There's no one (of whom) you say, 'That girl's going to make the Top 10 or top five.'''

Davenport, ranked No.1 in the world, is nearing 30 and spoke of retiring last year after losing here in the semifinals. She last won a grand-slam event five years ago.

Serena is heavy and seemingly unmotivated. Venus has helped quiet her critics with her finals appearance here, but skeptics will remain with her interest divided between tennis and interior design and her famed shopping sprees. She hasn't won a slam event since the U.S. Open in 2001.

These are the best of the current generation, with no new generation of American women tennis greats waiting in the wings.

``It's funny,'' Davenport said, ``because apparently the most famous female athletes are tennis players. But it seems like right now in the States, girls are just picking different sports ...

``My mom has run a junior volleyball program for 25 years in Southern California. She was telling me there are 10 times more girls playing than even 10 years ago.''

U.S. girls now appear drawn to the camaraderie in team sports such as soccer, softball, basketball and volleyball. Tennis' popularity in the United States has suffered because of it, declining along with boxing, horse racing and track and field. Where once there were lines waiting for courts to open on playgrounds, now they often sit empty.

Even in Southern California, which produced Davenport and the Williams sisters, the interest long ago reached its zenith.

This week it was announced the WTA final was moving from Los Angeles to Madrid ... for increased media exposure. How many even knew the event was ever here? Or what it even is?

It's not like tennis doesn't offer its rewards. In Sports Illustrated's latest issue, it lists the top ten money-earners among world female athletes. Seven are tennis players, including the top three (Sharapova and the Williams sisters).

Yet, although the international field continues to improve, particularly in Eastern Europe, the U.S. pool continues to shrivel and dry up. No one wants to jump in.

There is not one American ranked in the junior top ten, and perhaps sadly, most future women's tennis greats have announced themselves by the time they're 16.

Today, however, the U.S. will rule world tennis. An American will capture tennis' greatest prize.

It's an all-American affair, and maybe, the passing of a time.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Venus Williams, left, and Lindsay Davenport are a dying breed: dominant American women tennis players.

Adrian Dennis, Phil Cole/Getty Images

(3) SHARAPOVA

Phil Cole/Getty Images

(4) MYSKINA

(5) DEMENTIEVA