Andy Roddick
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Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. His best surfaces are hard court and grass.
He is the top-ranked American player and the only male American inside the top 10. He became a Grand Slam singles champion when he won the title at the 2003 US Open. Roddick has reached four other Grand Slam finals (Wimbledon three times and the US Open once), losing to Roger Federer each time. He and Federer are the only players to have been ranked in the Association of Tennis Professionals top 10 at year-end from 2002 through 2009. Roddick is known for his powerful serves and holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 155 mph (249.5 km/h).
Roddick has been on the United States Davis Cup team for several years, helping the US win the 2007 Davis Cup, the first win by the US since 1995.
Personal life
Roddick was born in Omaha, Nebraska to Jerry and Blanche Roddick. Roddick's father was a businessman and his mother was a school teacher. She now directs the Andy Roddick Foundation. Roddick has two older brothers, Lawrence and John (All-American tennis player at University of Georgia (1996–98) and head tennis coach at the University of Oklahoma), who were both promising tennis players at a young age.
Roddick lived in Austin, Texas, from age 4 until he was 11, then moved to Boca Raton, Florida in the interest of his brother John's tennis career,where he lived, first attending Boca Prep International School which Mardy Fish and later Jesse Levine also attended, until graduating from Highlands Christian Academy in 2000.Roddick played varsity basketball in high school alongside his future Davis Cup teammate Mardy Fish, who trained and lived with Roddick in 1999. During that time period, he sometimes trained with Venus and Serena Williams; he later moved back to Austin.
Roddick began dating singer Mandy Moore in 2002. Moore, after reading a magazine article about him, thought he was "really cute," so she sent her mother, who was attending a tournament in Toronto, to invite him to her set on a movie she was shooting nearby, How to Deal. Roddick accepted and they began dating.Roddick ended the relationship in March 2004.
While flipping through the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Roddick spotted Brooklyn Decker, a fashion model. He had his agent contact her. The two dated since at least the 2007 Davis Cup. On March 31, 2008, Roddick announced on his website that he and Decker had become engagedand they were then married in Austin on April 17, 2009.
Career
Roddick in Toronto.
Breakthrough
Roddick seriously considered quitting competitive tennis at the age of 17, when he had a losing streak in the juniors. Roddick lost a match to the last seed, Alex Harold Rachlin, barely winning one game throughout the match. His coach, Tarik Benhabiles, talked him into giving tennis four more months of undivided attention.[10] Roddick finished as the # 6 junior in the U.S. in 1999–2000, and as the # 1 junior in the world in 2000. He won six world junior singles and seven doubles titles, and won the US Open and Australian Open junior singles titles in 2000.[11] In March in Miami, in the first round Roddick had his first major victory as he beat world # 41 Fernando Vicente of Spain, 6-4, 6-0. In August in Washington, DC, he beat world # 30 Fabrice Santoro of France, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Roddick played the Banana Bowl in the city of São Paulo and won, beating Joachim Johansson in the final match.[12] Roddick also won the Australian Junior Open, defeating Mario Ancic in the final. In 2001, Roddick defeated Michael Chang in 5 sets in the second round of the French Open. During Wimbledon, he further showed potential by taking a set from eventual winner Goran Ivanišević. He also defeated 7-time Wimbledon champion, world # 4, and fellow American Pete Sampras, at the age of 19, at the Miami Masters, 7-6 (2), 6-3 in March, and world # 1 Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2 in August.
Roddick's breakthrough year was in 2003, in which he defeated Younes El Aynaoui in the quarterfinals of 2003 Australian Open. Roddick and the Moroccan battled for five hours, with the fifth set (21-19 in favor of Roddick) being the longest fifth set in a Grand Slam tournament during the open era, at 2 hours 23 minutes. (This was surpassed in 2007 during a Wimbledon men's doubles second round match, when Brazilians Marcelo Melo and André Sá beat Paul Hanley of Australia and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe in a 3 hour 5 minute set, winning it 28-26.) Despite a lackluster French Open, Roddick enjoyed success in the United Kingdom by winning Queen's Club (beating world # 2 Agassi 6-1, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6) along the way) and reaching the Wimbledon semifinals, where he lost to eventual champion Federer in straight sets. He avenged that loss in August, beating world #3 Federer in Montreal, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3).
World No. 1
Roddick's hardcourt record in 2003 included his first Masters Series titles – coming at Canada and Cincinnati – and his first Grand Slam title. At the U.S. Open, Roddick rallied from two sets down and a match point against him in the semifinals to beat David Nalbandian 6-7 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-1, 6-3. He then defeated world # 3 Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final, 6–3, 7–6, 6–3. At the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston he defeated world # 7 Carlos Moya of Spain, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, and world # 4 Guillermo Coria of Argentina, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3, before losing to Federer in the semifinals. By the end of the year, at age 21, he was ranked # 1, the first American to finish a year at # 1 since Andre Agassi in 1999. He also became the youngest American to hold this rank since computer rankings were started in 1973.
Roddick's reign at #1 ended the following February, when Roger Federer ascended to the top position after winning his first Australian Open. In April Roddick again beat world # 6 Moya, this time 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. In June, Roddick advanced to his first Wimbledon final, and after taking the first set from defending champion Federer, lost in four sets. Roddick was knocked out during the 2004 U.S. Open in a five-set quarterfinal against another big server, Joachim Johansson. Later in September in Bangkok he beat world # 9 Marat Safin of Russia, 7-6 (1), 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2). At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Roddick lost to Chilean Fernando González, the eventual bronze medal winner, in the third round. In November he beat world # 7 Tim Henman of Great Britain 7-5, 7-6 (6), world # 4 Safin, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4), and world # 6 Coria 7-6 (4), 6-3. Later that year, Roddick teamed up with Mardy Fish and Bob and Mike Bryan on the U.S. Davis Cup team that lost to Spain in the final in Seville. Roddick lost his singles match against Rafael Nadal, who would in the following year win the French Open. Towards the end of 2004, Roddick fired his coach of 18 months, Brad Gilbert, and hired assistant Davis Cup coach Dean Goldfine. Roddick finished 2004 ranked as the world # 2, the U.S.'s # 1, and the player with the most aces (1,017). In 2004 Roddick saved fellow tennis player Sjeng Schalken and other guests (including close friends Ben Campezi and Dean Monroe) from a hotel fire.[13]
Roddick's first 2005 tournament victory was the SAP Open in San Jose, California, where he became the first to win the event in consecutive years since Mark Philippoussis in 1999 and 2000. The top-seeded Roddick defeated Cyril Saulnier 6–0, 6–4 in 50 minutes, the event's first championship shutout set since Arthur Ashe beat Guillermo Vilas in 1975. In March he defeated World No. 7 Carlos Moya 6–7 (4), 6–4, 6–1. In April, Roddick won the U.S. Men's Claycourt Championships, reclaiming the title he won in 2001 and 2002. (He lost in 2003 to Agassi, and in 2004 to Tommy Haas.) In May, Roddick had match point against Spain's Fernando Verdasco. Verdasco was attempting to save the match point on his second serve, when the linesman erroneously called the serve out. If this call had held, Roddick would have won the match. Roddick motioned to the umpire, pointing to the clear ball mark on the clay indicating the ball was in, and the call was consequently changed. Verdasco went on to win the match. At the French Open, Roddick lost to the unseeded Argentine José Acasuso in the second round, and at Wimbledon, Roddick lost to Federer in the final for the second consecutive year. In August, he defeated World No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt, 6–4, 7–6 (4) at the Masters Series tournament in Cincinnati. At the US Open, Roddick was defeated by World No. 70 Gilles Müller in the first round. Roddick's last US Open first round loss had been in 2000. At the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, Roddick defeated Gaël Monfils to wrap up a tournament without losing a set or getting his serve broken.
New coach
Roddick's first ATP event of the year was the Australian Open. There he reached the fourth round before being upset by unseeded and eventual finalist, Marcos Baghdatis. At the French Open Roddick retired in the first round, after sustaining a foot injury during the match. Two weeks later at Wimbledon, Roddick was upset in the third round by British hopeful Andy Murray. This loss caused Roddick to fall below the top 10 for the first time since 2002. After Wimbledon, Roddick began working with a new coach, tennis legend Jimmy Connors. In his first event with his new coach, Roddick reached the final of Indianapolis before losing to good friend, and fellow American, James Blake. His resurgence finally came at the Cincinnati Masters, where he won the event by defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final, making this the first masters event he won since 2004. At the U.S. Open, Roddick easily won his first two matches against Florent Serra and Kristian Pless. He then played a thriller five-set match against Fernando Verdasco, winning 6-2 in the final set. Next, he beat Benjamin Becker, who was coming off a huge win against recently retired Andre Agassi. In the quarterfinals, Roddick beat Lleyton Hewitt, avenging his loss in 2001, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4. Now in the semifinals for the first time since he won in 2003, Roddick played Mikhail Youzhny, and beat him 6–7, 6–0, 7–6, 6–3. In the finals of a Grand Slam for the first time since Wimbledon a year prior, Roddick was to play world # 1 Federer. He lost however, 2–6, 6–4, 5–7, 1–6. He then qualified for the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup, where he defeated world # 4 Ivan Ljubičić of Croatia 6–4, 6–7 (9), 6–1, but lost in the round robin to world # 1 Federer 6–4, 6–7 (8), 4–6 in a tough three-set battle.
Roddick entered the 2007 Australian Open as the sixth seed. In his first round match, he lost a marathon first-set tiebreak 20-18, but eventually won the match in four sets against wild card Jo-Wilfried Tsonga from France. Roddick defeated 26th-seeded Marat Safin in the third round, and 9th seeded Mario Ančić in a five-set fourth round match. Roddick won his quarterfinal match against fellow American Mardy Fish 6–2, 6–2, 6–2. His run ended in the semifinals by world # 1 Federer, who defeated him in straight sets 6–4, 6–0, 6–2, making his head-to-head record against Federer 1-13. In first round Davis Cup action, Roddick helped the U.S. defeat the Czech Republic, winning his singles matches against Ivo Minář and Tomáš Berdych. Roddick reached at least the semifinals of his next two tournaments. He bowed out to Andy Murray in the semifinals of the SAP Open in San Jose, California, a reprise of 2006. Roddick then defeated Murray in the semifinals of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee, before losing in the final to defending champion Tommy Haas 6–3, 6–2. Reaching the final, however, enabled Roddick to overtake Nikolay Davydenko for the world # 3 position, his first week inside the top three since March 6, 2006. At the first ATP Masters Series tournament of the year, after beating world # 8 Ljubicic 6–4, 6–7 (9), 6–1, Roddick reached the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, lost to world # 2 Rafael Nadal 6–4, 6–3.
Series of injuries
Roddick then played the Miami Masters, where he retired from his quarterfinal match against Andy Murray due to a left hamstring injury. Roddick then helped the U.S. defeat Spain and advance to the Davis Cup semifinals, winning his lone singles match against Fernando Verdasco 7–6 (5), 6–1, 6–4. However, Roddick re-aggravated his hamstring injury during the Davis Cup tie, and was subsequently forced to pull out of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, Texas. Roddick also announced that he would withdraw from the Monte Carlo Masters, citing the injury. His next tournament was at the Internazionali d'Italia. After a first round bye, he won his first match against Gastón Gaudio, where he saved all three break points and fired nine aces. However, he was unable to stop Juan Ignacio Chela in the third round, losing 6–0, 6–4. Roddick then withdrew from the Masters Series Hamburg tournament because, according to his website, he needed time to physically prepare himself for the upcoming French Open. Roddick was seeded third at the French Open, but was eliminated in the first round by Russian Igor Andreev in four sets 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 4-6. Roddick was victorious at the Stella Artois Championships for the fourth time when he defeated Nicolas Mahut in the final 4–6, 7–6 (7), 7–6 (2). At Wimbledon, Roddick was seeded third and considered one of the pre-tournament favorites behind Federer and Nadal. He reached the quarterfinals after wins against Justin Gimelstob of the U.S., Danai Udomchoke of Thailand, Fernando Verdasco of Spain, and Paul-Henri Mathieu of France. In the quarterfinals, Roddick lost in five close sets to Richard Gasquet of France 4–6, 4–6, 7–6 (2), 7–6 (3), 8–6.
During the summer hardcourt season, Roddick played four tournaments in four weeks. Roddick made it to the semifinals of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, where he was upset by Frank Dancevic of Canada 6–4, 7–6 (1). The next week, however, Roddick claimed his second ATP title of the year by winning the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C. for the third time, when he beat American newcomer John Isner 6–4, 7–6 (4). He then lost in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal to Novak Đoković, and in the third round of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio to David Ferrer of Spain. At the U.S. Open, Roddick defeated Gimelstob in the first round 7–6 (6), 6–3, 6–3. He won his next three matches, one in straight sets and the other two when his opponent retired. In the quarterfinals, Roddick once again lost to Federer 7–6 (5), 7–6 (4), 6–2, bringing his head-to-head record with Federer 1-14. There were no breaks of serve and only one break point total in the first two sets, that being on Federer's serve. Two weeks later, Roddick anchored the U.S. Davis Cup team during its 4–1 semifinal defeat of Sweden. Roddick won both his singles matches, opening the tie with a defeat of Joachim Johansson 7–6 (4), 7–6 (3), 6–3, and clinching it with a 6–2, 7–6 (3), 6–4 victory over Jonas Björkman. This was the ninth time in nine tries that Roddick has clinched a tie for the American team.[citation needed]
Roddick's then set his sights on the Madrid Masters, but pulled out, citing a knee injury. At his next tournament two weeks later in Lyon, France, Roddick lost in the first round to frenchman Fabrice Santoro 7–6 (5), 2–6, 6–4. Roddick then withdrew from the Paris Masters, incurring a $22,600 fine for not fulfilling his media obligations at the tournament.[14] At the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, Roddick defeated world # 4 Nikolay Davydenko 6–3, 4–6, 6–2 in his first round-robin match, and then defeated world # 7 Fernando González in his next match to become the first player to qualify for the semifinals of the tournament. In his third and final round-robin match, Roddick lost once again to Federer, 6–4, 6–2 for the 15th time in 16 career matches. In the semifinals, Roddick lost 6–1, 6–3 to # 6 seed David Ferrer, who had won all three of his round-robin matches. This was Roddick's third semifinal finish out of the last five years at the Tennis Masters Cup (he reached the semifinals in 2003 and 2004, withdrew in 2005, and failed to advance to the semifinals in 2006 after a 1–2 round-robin record). Roddick finished the year by helping the U.S. defeat Russia and win the 2007 Davis Cup, its 32nd Davis Cup victory but first since 1995. Roddick won his rubber against Dmitry Tursunov 6–4, 6–4, 6–2, before James Blake and Bob and Mike Bryan completed the victory. Having secured the tie with an unassailable 3–0 lead, Roddick decided to sit out his second singles match of the tie.
Roddick started 2008 strongly, defeating Ljubičić 6–3, 6–0, and Safin 6–3, 6–3 to reach AAMI Kooyong Classic final for four consecutive seasons. In the final, he defeated Baghdatis 7–5, 6–3 to win the tournament for the third consecutive year. Roddick was seeded sixth in the 2008 Australian Open. In the first round, he defeated Lukáš Dlouhý of the Czech Republic 6–3, 6–4, 7–5. In the second round, he defeated German Michael Berrer 6–2, 6–2, 6–4. He then lost to the # 29 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in the third round in a 5-set match 4–6, 6–3, 6–7 (9), 7–6 (3), 6–8. Despite losing, Roddick served a career-high of 42 aces in a match. Roddick won his 24th career title and his 3rd title at the SAP Open in San Jose, California. He defeated the Czech Radek Štěpánek in straight sets, 6–4, 7–5. Roddick's next tournament was the Dubai Tennis Championships. He made it to the semi-finals by defeating world # 2 Rafael Nadal of Spain 7–6 (5), 6–2, his first victory over Nadal since the second round of the 2004 US Open. The win also marked Roddick's first victory over a player ranked in the top two since June 2003. He progressed through to the finals by defeating world # 3 and 2008 Australian Open Singles Champion Novak Djokovic 7–6 (5), 6–3 in the semi-final. By making it to the final, he became the first American to reach the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships final in the tournament's 16-year history. In the final he defeated Feliciano López 6–7 (8), 6–4, 6–2, to win his 25th career title. He never lost his serve during the entire tournament.
Split with coach
Following Roddick's quarterfinal match in Dubai, he announced that he had split with his coach of two years, Jimmy Connors. Connors had resigned a week earlier, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.[15] Roddick would continue to be coached by his brother, John Roddick. He then fell to former world # 2 Tommy Haas at the Pacific Life Open in the 2nd round, 6–4, 6–4. At the 2008 Sony Ericsson Open, Roddick advanced to the semifinals after defeating world # 1 Federer 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3 an hour after proposing to Brooklyn Decker, bringing his head-to-head record against Federer to 2-15. Roddick improved to 3-0 against top-3 players in 2008. Roddick lost in the semifinals to Nikolay Davydenko 6-7 (5), 2-6. Roddick's next tournament was the Masters tournament in Rome. There he equaled his best result by reaching the semifinals, where he retired against Stanislas Wawrinka in the pair's first encounter, due to a back injury.
Roddick was forced to pull out of the 2008 French Open due to a shoulder injury. After a visit to a doctor in New York it was determined this was nothing more than an inflammation of the rotator cuff. His first tournament after the shoulder injury was the Artois Championship, his annual Wimbledon preparation, where he was the defending champion after winning the title last year, one of four wins at the tournament. In the tournament, Roddick defeated Mardy Fish and Andy Murray before losing to eventual champion Nadal in the semifinals. In the 2008 Wimbledon, Roddick suffered a 2nd round defeat to Serbia's Janko Tipsarević 6–7 (5), 7–5, 6–4, 7–6 (4). This was his earliest exit at Wimbledon. Roddick was beaten at the Rogers Cup in the third round by Marin Čilić, 4-6, 6-4, 4-6. He was then forced to pull out of the Cincinnati Masters following a neck injury, which he said may have been caused by a poor sleeping posture. He stated in an interview that the neck injury had nothing to do with his shoulder injury. Roddick did not participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics, with his reason being to concentrate on the 2008 US Open.[16] In order to prepare for the US Open, Roddick then played in the smaller hard court tournaments in the US Open Series, including those at Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. At the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, Roddick lost to Juan Martín del Potro in the final, 1-6, 6-7 (2).
At the 2008 US Open, Roddick defeated Fabrice Santoro in the first round 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. Roddick then won his next 3 matches against Ernests Gulbis, Andreas Seppi, and Fernando González. In the quarterfinals, Roddick lost to the World No. 3 and reigning Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic 2-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5) bringing his head-to-head record to 1-2.
Success in Asia
Roddick captured his 26th ATP title in Beijing at the China Open on September 28, 2008. He defeated Dudi Sela of Israel, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3. The victory was part of Roddick's strong showing in Asia, as he reached the semifinal round of the AIG Japan Open where he lost to eventual champion Tomáš Berdych after squandering a 5-3 lead in the third and deciding set. In the third round of the Madrid Masters he lost to Frenchman Gaël Monfils in three sets 4-6, 6-3, 3-6. Two weeks later, Roddick reached the quarterfinals of Paris Masters by defeating Frenchman Gilles Simon, 6-3, 7-5, before losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Due to his performance in the tournament, Roddick automatically qualified for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup. At the Masters Cup in Shanghai, he played Andy Murray in his first round robin match and lost 4-6, 6-1, 1-6. He was then scheduled to play Federer, but retired due to an ankle injury and was replaced by Štěpánek.
Return to form in 2009
Roddick hired Larry Stefanki as his new coach and started working with him on December 1, 2008. Stefanki had previously trained John McEnroe, Marcelo Rios, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Fernando González, and Tim Henman. Under Stefanki's guidance, both Rios and Kafelnikov rose to the World No. 1 ranking, and Henman and González reached the top five, including a 2007 Australian Open runner-up finish by Gonzalez.
Roddick began official tournament competition at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. He defeated Gaël Monfils in the semifinals 7–6, 3–6, 6–3 before losing to Andy Murray in the final. At the Australian Open, Roddick defeated Xavier Malisse in the second round 4–6, 6–2, 7–6(1), 6–2. After victories over Fabrice Santoro and 21st-seeded Tommy Robredo, Roddick played the defending champion and World No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. Djokovic retired in the fourth set while trailing 6–7(3), 6–4, 6–2, 2–1, which allowed Roddick to reach the fourth Australian Open semifinal of his career. Roddick was defeated there by eventual runner-up Roger Federer 6–2, 7–5, 7–5.
His next tournament was the SAP Open in San Jose, U.S. He snapped a three-match losing streak against Tommy Haas in the quarterfinals 7–5, 6–4 before losing in the semifinals to Radek Štěpánek for the first time in his career 3–6, 7–6(5), 6–4. At the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, U.S., Roddick defeated Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the semifinals 2–6, 7–6, 6–4, to reach the final. He took his first title of the year by beating Štěpánek in the final 7–5, 7–5.
Roddick chose not to defend his Dubai title, with prize money of over $2 million, to protest the refusal of the United Arab Emirates to grant Israeli Shahar Pe'er a visa for the Women's Tennis Association event.[17][18] "I really didn't agree with what went on over there," Roddick said.[17][18]
Roddick played both of the spring ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in the U.S. He was seeded seventh at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. He defeated defending champion Djokovic in the quarterfinals 6–3, 6–2. His run was ended by World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals 6–4, 7–6(4). However, he won the doubles title with partner Mardy Fish. It was his fourth doubles title overall and his second partnering Fish. At the Miami Masters, Roddick beat ninth-seeded Monfils in the fourth round 7–6(2), 6–2 to secure a place in the quarterfinals, where he lost to Federer 6–3, 4–6, 6–4.
After a break from tournament tennis to get married, Roddick returned to action at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay court event in Madrid. In his first match, Roddick survived two match points in the second set tiebreaker to defeat Haas 1–6, 7–6(9), 6–4. In the quarterfinals, Roddick again lost to Federer 7–5, 6–7(5), 6–1. Roddick had his career best result at the French Open when he defeated Marc Gicquel in the third round. He lost in the fourth round to Monfils 6–4, 6–2, 6–3.
A twisted ankle forced Roddick to retire from his semifinal match against James Blake at the AEGON Championships, his first grass court tournament of the year. He was seeded sixth at Wimbledon. He defeated Hewitt in the quarterfinals 6–3, 6–7(10), 7–6(1), 4–6, 6–4, serving a career-high 43 aces, and third-seeded Andy Murray in the semifinals, 6–4, 4–6, 7–6(7), 7–6(5).[19] He then lost to Federer for the third time in a Wimbledon final 5–7, 7–6(6), 7–6(5), 3–6, 16–14.[20] Even though Roddick lost this match, he set a record for number of games won in a Wimbledon final at 39. This was their fourth meeting in a Grand Slam final, all having been won by Federer. On the strength of his Wimbledon performance, Roddick returned to the top five on July 13, 2009.
Roddick returned to action as the top seed at the ATP World Tour 500 event in Washington. He defeated Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-2 and then Sam Querrey 7-6(4), 6-4 for his 500th career ATP tour victory. He defeated Ivo Karlovic in the quarter-finals 7-6(4), 7-6(5), and John Isner 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5 in the semi-finals. In the final, he lost to defending champion Juan Martin del Potro 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(6) despite saving three match points.
Roddick played the next week at the ATP World Tour 1000 event in Montreal, where he was seeded fifth. He defeated Igor Andreev 6-1, 7-6(3), then World #11 Fernando Verdasco 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6(5), and in the quarterfinals defeated World #4 Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-6(4), improving his career record against Djokovic to 4-2 (3-0 in 2009). He then lost to World #6 Juan Martin del Potro 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the semifinals, despite having a match point. The loss dropped his career record against del Potro to 0-3 (0-2 in 2009).
Roddick next played at the ATP World Tour 1000 event in Cincinnati, where he was seeded fifth. He lost to Sam Querrey 7-6(11), 7-6(3) in his first match, after having received a bye in the first round.
Roddick entered the US Open as the 5th seeded player. In his first round match, he defeated the German veteran Bjorn Phau 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. On September 3, 2009 during the US Open, he faced Frenchman Marc Gicquel and won 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 as his parents and newly wed wife watched on from the stands. In the 3rd round, he was eliminated by fellow American John Isner 7-6(3), 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6(5). Ironically, he lost his serve only once during the match, as was the case in the Wimbledon final.
Roddick's next tournament was the 2009 China Open in Beijing where he was the defending champion. In a shocking upset he was defeated in the first round by Polish qualifier and world #143 Lukasz Kubot 2-6, 4-6. He also played doubles at the event with Mark Knowles. The pair reached the final, losing to Bob and Mike Bryan 6-4, 6-2.
Roddick was forced to retire from his first round match at the 2009 Shanghai Masters against Stanislas Wawrinka who was leading 4-3. It was later announced that Roddick would return to the United States to seek medical advice on a left knee injury [21]. Once again, he qualified for the Year-End Masters in London securing the sixth spot. However, Roddick withdrew from the 2009 Valencia Open 500, the 2009 BNP Paribas Masters and the 2009 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals due to the injury he suffered from at the Shanghai Masters. He finished 2009 as the number seven ranked player in the world.
2010
Roddick started his 2010 campaign at the 2010 Brisbane International as the top seed. Roddick defeated Peter Luczak, Carsten Ball, Richard Gasquet, and Tomas Berdych to reach the final. In the final, he defeated defending champion Radek Štěpánek 7-6(2), 7-6(7) for his first ATP Tour title since February 2009. Roddick teamed with James Blake in the men's doubles and made it to the semifinals before losing to eventual champions Jeremy Chardy and Marc Gicquel. Roddick announced that he will not represent the United States in Davis Cup competition for the 2010 season.
Roddick entered the 2010 Australian Open as the seventh seed. He defeated Thiemo de Bakker, Thomaz Bellucci and Feliciano Lopez, and then defeated world #11 Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 to reach his sixth career Australian Open quarterfinal and raise his career record against Gonzalez to 9-3. In the quarterfinals he faced world #14 Marin Cilic, and despite coming back from two sets down while battling an apparent shoulder injury, Roddick lost 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 3-6 2-6 6-3
Davis Cup
With his 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 win over Paul-Henri Mathieu on April 13, 2008, for the deciding victory in the best-of-five 2008 quarterfinal Davis Cup match with France, Roddick improved to 10-0 in clinching situations for the United States. In his second singles victory in three days, he was held to 17 aces, down from 30 against Michael Llodra a few days prior. Roddick improved to 31-11 for the US in Davis Cup matches, trailing only John McEnroe (41). His win against the 12th-ranked Mathieu was part of a strong month in which he beat the tour's top three players—Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic.
Nicknames and on-court behavior
Roddick is often called "A-Rod," referring to his first initial and the first three letters of his last name.
Roddick is known for frequent outbursts against umpires on the court. His most famous quote is to umpire Emmanuel Joseph in his Australian Open 2008 match: "You're an idiot! Stay in school kids, or you'll end up being an umpire."
Equipment
Roddick uses a discontinued version of the Babolat Pure Drive, extended to 27.5 inches. The racquet itself is heavily customised with additional weight placed in the head via the use of lead tape. The resulting racquet exhibits a more head heavy balance point and a higher swingweight than the stock model with a higher overall weight, though this is similar to the model he endorses at approximately 12oz. Modifications of this sort are not uncommon for professional players.
Roddick's racquets are painted to resemble the Pure Drive Roddick Plus with Cortex racquet in order to market a current model which Babolat sells. The cortex in particular is visibly painted onto the racquet. For marketing purposes Roddick endorses the Pure Drive Roddick GT Plus Cortex Racquet, a signature racquet designed for him by racquet sponsor Babolat, which is slightly heavier (11.9 oz), stiffer (Babolat RDC index 72), and longer (27.5") than the standard Pure Drive Series (11.3 oz, Babolat RDC 71, 27"). The racquet is designed for a strong service due to its weight, stiffness, and length.[26] According to Tennis Warehouse, it is the best one for this fundamental. He strings with a custom hybrid (Pro Hurricane Tour + VS). Roddick's tension varies, but he mostly strings his racquets to a tension of roughly 64 or 65 pounds.
Roddick also uses Babolat Propulse II tennis shoes, which are his signature gear.[27] In matches, Roddick wears shirts, shorts, and caps manufactured for him by Lacoste.
Playing style
Roddick is known for his powerful first serve, usually serving at around 130-150 mph (209~242 km/h), which he uses to earn free points with aces and unreturnable serves.[28] His first serve is known to some as the "Roddick Serve" since he abbreviates the serve by removing part of the motion. He usually targets the two corners to win aces. As for his second serve, he usually employs a heavy kick serve, then tries to use a variety of spins, slices, and angles in the rally to throw off his opponent. He is noted to use heavy topspin on both his serves and his twist serve is probably the highest-kicking serve anyone hits.[29] Roddick will also occasionally use the serve-and-volley tactic on both first and second services to surprise his opponent, though he generally prefers to remain near the baseline after a serve. Despite all this, Roddick is sometimes criticized for his lack of variety; however, he has developed a more all-court playing style compared to the aggressive baseline style he played with for most of his early career. Under new coach Larry Stefanki, he has been in the fittest shape of his career, as well as developing his volleying skills.[30] Roddick's backhand is also considered to have improved over the course of his career.
Media appearances
On April 5, 2002, Roddick guest-starred on the television show Sabrina, the Teenage Witch as himself. In the episode, Sabrina summoned him so he could give her tennis lessons.[32][33]
Roddick appeared on the The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn talk show in 2002 and 2003, Late Show with David Letterman in 2003 and 2009, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and Live with Regis and Kathie Lee in 2003, Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2004 and 2005, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2005 and 2007, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2006.[32] Roddick also appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on June 8, 2007. The two had humorous conversations about life beyond the court, other players, and on-court fashions. At one point during the interview, Ross sat on Roddick's lap to try to make him feel uncomfortable.
Roddick hosted Saturday Night Live on November 8, 2003, becoming the second professional tennis player to host (Chris Evert being the first).[citation needed]
Roddick also appeared on a 2004 episode of the Anne Robinson Version of The Weakest Link, but ended up being voted off.[34]
Roddick is in a This is SportsCenter ad with Stuart Scott, in which he confronts the Sports Center anchor about the anchors not calling him "A-Rod," and asks him "Did Alex Rodriguez put you up to this?" Scott replies "Who?" Roddick says "A-Rod!" Scott gets a sneaky look on his face, and Roddick leaves disgusted.
The June/Julyissue of Men's Fitness magazine carried an article on Roddick. The cover shot featured the tennis ace in a t-shirt, straining to contain massive, pumped-up biceps and hulking shoulder and chest muscles. The image set off widespread online speculation that the magazine had altered Roddick's likeness, a suspicion echoed by Roddick himself. Roddick has quipped that he saw the photo, and that Nadal wanted his arms back.
In March 2009, Andy Roddick appeared in the "Speed Feels Better" music video for singer/songwriter Michael Tolcher. Other athletes in the video included Amanda Beard, Barry Sanders, Kimmie Meissner, and Rick Ankiel.
Awards and record serve
In 2004, Roddick produced the fastest serve in professional tennis: 249.5 km/h (155 mph) during a Davis Cup semi-final match with Vladimir Voltchkov on hard court in Charleston. Earlier that year, Roddick had the fastest serve in U.S. Open history: 244 km/h (152 mph) against American Scoville Jenkins.[35] Roddick also won the 2004 ESPY Award for Best Male Tennis Player.
That same year he won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award of the Year because of his charity efforts, which included: raising money for the survivors of the tsunami following 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake through Serving for Tsunami Relief and other efforts; auctioning off several rackets and autographs to raise money for UNICEF; and creating the Andy Roddick Foundation to help at-risk youth. The foundation is partly funded through the sale of blue wristbands inscribed "No Compromise," inspired by Lance Armstrong's yellow Livestrong wristbands.
In 2007 Roddick and the Andy Roddick Foundation was awarded by the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health. Roddick was the first male tennis player ever to receive the award.
Records and achievements
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Career WR | Career Win-Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | 2R | SF | QF | SF | 4R | SF | 3R | SF | QF | 0 / 9 | 34–9 |
| French Open | A | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | 4R | 0 / 8 | 7–8 | |
| Wimbledon | A | 3R | 3R | SF | F | F | 3R | QF | 2R | F | 0 / 9 | 33–9 | |
| US Open | 1R | QF | QF | W | QF | 1R | F | QF | QF | 3R | 1 / 10 | 35–9 | |
| WR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 1 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 1 | 1 / 36 | N/A |
| Win-Loss | 0–1 | 8–3 | 7–4 | 17–3 | 15–4 | 12–4 | 11–4 | 13–4 | 7–3 | 16–4 | 4–1 | N/A | 110–35 |
- These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.
| Tournament Name | Record accomplished | Player tied |
| Wimbledon 2009 | Most games won in a Grand Slam final (39) | Stands alone |
| 2007 | Most consecutive tie-breaks won (18) | Stands alone |
| Davis Cup 2004 | Fastest serve (155 mph) | Stands alone |
| U.S. Open 2004 | Fastest serve in a Grand Slam tournament (152 mph) | Stands alone |