Overrated. One-trick pony. Boy Wonder. These are just some of the labels that have been thrown Andy Roddick's way throughout his career. People judge Roddick for winning just 1 Grand Slam title even though he won 31 other titles and won more titles than Tennis Hall of Famers such as Ken Rosewall and Yannick Noah. People criticize Roddick for his career record against Federer (21-3 in Fed's favor), instead of recognizing that 7 of those matches came in the finals of tournaments, including a stretch in 2004-2006 where 6 consecutive matches played between the two occurred in finals. The fact of the matter is this - Andy Roddick embodied the American spirit better than any other American male tennis player this past decade and he carried the flag for the United States, and he carried it admirably.
First, we'll focus on his tennis career. Roddick earned his first ATP victory way back in March of 2000, defeating Fernando Vicente 6-4 6-0, who at the time was ranked #41 in the world. Roddick further asserted himself the following year, defeating former French Open Champion and fellow American Michael Chang in the second round of the French Open. Later that year, Roddick earned two more signature wins, defeating #4 Pete Sampras 7-6 6-3 and then #1 Gustavo Kuerten 6-7 6-4 6-2 at the Miami Masters. However, 2003 is the year that we finally saw Roddick take the big jump as he won the US Open in memorable fashion, bludgeoning World No. 3 Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3 7-6 6-3. Many often overlook the fact that Roddick was actually down 2 sets to love in the semifinals to David Nalbandian, but somehow dug deep and rallied to defeat Nalbandian 6-7 3-6 7-6 6-1 6-3. By the end of the year, Roddick had taken over the world #1 ranking, becoming the youngest American to hold the #1 ranking since the computer rankings started in 1973. You can see why the expectations were off the chart for Andy.
However, we weren't going to make it through this article without mentioning the one man that may have single-handedly altered the course of Andy Roddick's career - Roger Federer. Roddick's career just so happened to coincide with a man who is arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, and yet Roddick never gave Federer anything easy. Even when Federer took over the #1 ranking in February of 2004, Roddick never quit working and still made Federer earn every title he won. While Roger cruised at #1, Andy was always tinkering with his game, experimenting with coaches, and working harder than ever. Even when Andy dropped out of the top 10 in 2006, he never quit and ultimately he ended up reaching the 2006 US Open Finals where he unfortunately fell to Federer again. Roddick started to slow down after the 2007 season and saw a string of injuries hold him back from playing the kind of game he wanted to play. However, Roddick endured and kept churning along. Finally in 2009, we saw Roddick play some of the most inspired tennis of his life, including what many believe to be the match of his life at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships. For 4 hours and 16 minutes, Roddick went toe-to-toe with his nemesis, Federer. Serve for serve, forehand for forehand, Roddick was in complete control of the match. Up 6-5 in the 2nd set tiebreaker after winning the first set 7-5, Roddick missed the shot that will probably haunt him for the rest of his career. Needing just to redirect the ball back into the open court, Roddick missed a high backhand volley and went on to lose the 2nd set 7-6. That honestly may have been the only mistake he made that match. Federer would rally to defeat Roddick, 5-7 7-6 7-6 3-6 16-14, in one of the greatest Wimbledon finals ever played. That match ultimately proved to be the last we saw of Roddick at his best as injuries finally took their toll for good. After that final, Roddick never advanced past a Grand Slam quarterfinal and he knew his career was coming to a close.
The final tally for Andy is quite remarkable and many people tend to be unaware of some of his outstanding numbers. Let's start with the more well-known. Roddick won 32 Singles Titles which is the 21st most since the Open Era began in 1968. He has the 5th most hardcourt wins all time (426), and has the 10th best winning percentage all time on grass (79.63%), just a shade behind Rafael Nadal. Roddick ranks in the top 10 all time in match victories at both the US Open (43, T-7th) and Australian Open (38, 7th). Roddick has the 9th most hard court titles of all time (21) and the 9th most grass court titles of all time (5). But his two most impressive records to me are the following. From 2001-2012, Andy Roddick won at least 1 title each year (12 consecutive years), which is the third best mark of all time. He's tied with Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, and a guy named Federer with that mark. His other impressive stat is that from 2002-2010, Roddick finished in the year-end top 10, a mark that Federer only beat this past year. He was a great player that is more than deserving of a place in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Most people judge the man for what he did on the court, but not enough people recognize what he did off the court. Roddick won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award in 2004 for his charity efforts which included raising money for survivors of the tsunami and creating the Andy Roddick Foundation to help at-risk youth. In 2007, Roddick and his foundation were awarded the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health. Roddick became the first male tennis player ever to receive the award. Not only did he carry America on his back in the Davis Cup and the Grand Slams, but he was an incredible human being off the court and set the perfect example for America's youth. That's what I'm going to remember most about Andy. Most of us are so concerned about the future of American tennis now that Andy is gone, but I'm not. The example that Andy has set for America's youth is a phenomenal one and sometime soon we'll see the next generation of American stars pop up and it will be all thanks to Andy. So tonight, or some time this week, reflect on your favorite Andy Roddick moment and just raise a glass to him. Raise a glass to the man that carried American tennis on his back for the last decade. Raise a glass to the man that competed with a fire that burned as bright as the son while on the court, but was as compassionate and caring off the court. Raise a glass, to Mr. Andy Roddick.
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