It seems as though Andy Roddick's entire tennis career has been at the wrong place and wrong time. Despite his talented play, he's only won one Grand Slam title, back in 2003, when he beat Juan Carlos Ferrero to win the US Open. Other than that, he's reached the finals on four occasions, thrice at Wimbledon and once at the US Open, and each and every time he has lost to the one, the only, Roger Federer.
Yesterday, Roddick, ranked fifth in the world, fell to Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan, a 26 year old (which is by no means young in the world of tennis), ranked 82nd in the world in five sets. After losing the first set to Roddick, Lu came back and won the next two sets in tiebreaks. Roddick wasn't going down so easy though, as even though he started the fourth set down 3-0, he clawed back tooth and nail to win in a tiebreak. With Roddick having the momentum and the clear advantage talent-wise, it seemed obvious that this match would be a major bump in the road, but one that he would get over. But that didn't turn out to be the case. Lu ended up taking the fifth set 9-7 and winning the match, despite not getting one single break point against Roddick through the first three sets of the 4 hour, 36 minute match.
It was a heartbreaker for Roddick, who despite his wonderful year last year, is not getting any younger. The prime age for a tennis player is usually around 24 years old, and after that it's usually downhill. With a new crop of youngsters, including 24 year old Rafael Nadal, and 23 year olds Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, on the rise in the tennis world, and Federer only a year older than Roddick, time is running out for Roddick to win his second major tournament.
What made it especially hurtful to lose even before the quarterfinals, was that had he beat Lu and gone on next to beat Djokovic, he could have given himself a shot at Federer, whom he lost to in last year's Wimbledon final in a wild five set match. In last year's final, after losing the first set, Roddick won the next two in tiebreakers, and it finally looked like he would beat the man that had eluded him his whole career. He then dropped the fourth set, sending the match to a fifth set was the most important set of his career. He fought hard, but once again came up short of Federer, losing the set 16-14. Another tournament gone by, another loss to Federer.
It was a heartbreaker for Roddick, who despite his wonderful year last year, is not getting any younger. The prime age for a tennis player is usually around 24 years old, and after that it's usually downhill. With a new crop of youngsters, including 24 year old Rafael Nadal, and 23 year olds Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, on the rise in the tennis world, and Federer only a year older than Roddick, time is running out for Roddick to win his second major tournament.
What made it especially hurtful to lose even before the quarterfinals, was that had he beat Lu and gone on next to beat Djokovic, he could have given himself a shot at Federer, whom he lost to in last year's Wimbledon final in a wild five set match. In last year's final, after losing the first set, Roddick won the next two in tiebreakers, and it finally looked like he would beat the man that had eluded him his whole career. He then dropped the fourth set, sending the match to a fifth set was the most important set of his career. He fought hard, but once again came up short of Federer, losing the set 16-14. Another tournament gone by, another loss to Federer.
But, Roddick's tennis career hasn't been for nil. He and his arch nemesis Federer, are the only tennis players to have been ranked in the ATP Top 10 consecutively from 2002 to 2010. At the end of 2003 when he was only 21, Roddick was the top-ranked player in the world, the youngest American to hold that title, since computer rankings were put into place in 1973. At a young age, it was clear to everyone that Roddick was the new American hope in men's tennis, with Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras reaching the end of not only their primes, but their careers. But Roger Federer was coming onto the scene at the exact same time, winning his first Slam in 2003 as well. It looked like the two would be the new Sampras-Agassi, the new big rivals in tennis, but as time would tell, their rivalry would be severely one-sided.
Roddick has tried, and tried, and God love him for persevering, but Federer has dominated his career. Around every corner at every turn, there Roger was, awaiting Roddick. Grand Slam tournaments, regular tournaments, even little, dinky tournaments. In their 21 career head-to-head match-ups, Roddick is only 2-19 against Federer. There was no escape, no way out for Roddick; if he ever wanted to win a Grand Slam there was no doubt that he'd have to go through Federer.
So Roddick has made his millions, had his major success, married a beautiful supermodel and has earned the title of the best American men's tennis player during the 2000s, but like Mickelson could never beat Tiger early on, Roddick could never beat Federer, and unfortunately for Roddick, he doesn't have the decades of play that golfers have. Roddick will be remembered in history, but sadly, it will probably only be for never being able to get past Federer, instead of for the relatively successful, and long career he put together for himself.
Roddick has tried, and tried, and God love him for persevering, but Federer has dominated his career. Around every corner at every turn, there Roger was, awaiting Roddick. Grand Slam tournaments, regular tournaments, even little, dinky tournaments. In their 21 career head-to-head match-ups, Roddick is only 2-19 against Federer. There was no escape, no way out for Roddick; if he ever wanted to win a Grand Slam there was no doubt that he'd have to go through Federer.
So Roddick has made his millions, had his major success, married a beautiful supermodel and has earned the title of the best American men's tennis player during the 2000s, but like Mickelson could never beat Tiger early on, Roddick could never beat Federer, and unfortunately for Roddick, he doesn't have the decades of play that golfers have. Roddick will be remembered in history, but sadly, it will probably only be for never being able to get past Federer, instead of for the relatively successful, and long career he put together for himself.
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