Australian Open, Roddick out drought continues
An injured Andy Roddick lost his quarterfinal match at the Australian Open on Tuesday, continuing his singles title drought in majors and that of a country that has been starved of a men’s Grand Slam title for more than six years.
The seventh-seeded Roddick was beaten 7-6 (4), 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3 by Croatia’s Marin Cilic at Rod Laver Arena. At end of the first set, he took a medical time out to have his right shoulder worked on and told the trainer that he was experiencing pain when he served and “tingling in my hand.”
Roddick’s only major has been the 2003 U.S. Open, the last time an American man has won a Grand Slam singles title, marking the country’s longest drought in majors.
Despite playing strongly in the third and fourth sets to level the match, Roddick fell apart in the final set, allowing No. 14 Cilic to break twice and send the last American man out of the singles draw at Melbourne Park.
Roddick said he didn’t practice on Monday after feeling a twinge in his shoulder during Sunday’s fourth-round win over Fernando Gonzalez.
“The trainer said it was stemming from the neck down,” Roddick said. “By the end of the first set, I was pretty numb in the bottom two fingers. I could still hit it pretty hard; I was just having trouble controlling it.”
Roddick took advantage of some mediocre serving by Cilic in the third and fourth sets. When the Croatian’s serve improved in the fifth, it was all but over
The seventh-seeded Roddick was beaten 7-6 (4), 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3 by Croatia’s Marin Cilic at Rod Laver Arena. At end of the first set, he took a medical time out to have his right shoulder worked on and told the trainer that he was experiencing pain when he served and “tingling in my hand.”
Roddick’s only major has been the 2003 U.S. Open, the last time an American man has won a Grand Slam singles title, marking the country’s longest drought in majors.
Despite playing strongly in the third and fourth sets to level the match, Roddick fell apart in the final set, allowing No. 14 Cilic to break twice and send the last American man out of the singles draw at Melbourne Park.
Roddick said he didn’t practice on Monday after feeling a twinge in his shoulder during Sunday’s fourth-round win over Fernando Gonzalez.
“The trainer said it was stemming from the neck down,” Roddick said. “By the end of the first set, I was pretty numb in the bottom two fingers. I could still hit it pretty hard; I was just having trouble controlling it.”
Roddick took advantage of some mediocre serving by Cilic in the third and fourth sets. When the Croatian’s serve improved in the fifth, it was all but over