Liguori: Andy Roddick Stuck In Federer's Shadow
By Ann Liguori
Andy Roddick turned 28-years-old on Monday, August 30th, the day he beat Stephane Robert of France in straight sets in the first round, only to be ousted in the second round by Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, in four sets. Roddick yelled at a lines judge and at the tournament referee over a foot fault call, one of several, and basically, looked flat against a player ranked 44th in the world.
Do American tennis fans remember that Roddick won here? Have they lost hope that he'll win another? When will another American player win a Major? The 2010 US Open is the 28th Major since Roddick's triumph in New York, the longest gap between Grand Slam wins for US men in the Open Era!
Roddick did get to the US Open finals in 2006, but lost to Roger Federer. He was 23-years-old at the time and even admitted in his press conference on Monday that the media was "trying to kick me out at 23 and so, he got just as much joy out of that kind of run to the finals as I did when I won."
And guess who prevented Roddick from winning three Wimbledon championships? None other than Roger Federer. Roddick got to the finals at Wimbledon in 2004, 2005 and 2009 and each time, lost to Federer.
So to criticize Roddick for not bringing home the goods is tough to do in a decade dominated by the Swiss magician, Roger Federer. Roddick came close to beating Federer in the 2009 Wimbledon final, but lost 14-16 in the fifth set! Roddick could possibly have won four more Major Championships if it weren't for the guy who dominated the sport between 2003-2008. Not to say that Federer is finished, either. The guy who won six Wimbledon titles, five straight US Open championships, four Australian Open titles and one French Open title says he wants to win '20' Major Championships.
To win four more Major titles for Federer sounds do-able. The 29-year-old won the Australian Open this year and is hoping to win his sixth US Open title this fortnight.
Yes, Roddick could have had better timing. His prime just happened to coincide with the prime of the player who has become the greatest ever.
So I guess we'll just have to appreciate Roddick's 29 singles titles over-all. But as much as I admire Federer and his incredible career, the game needs an American male player to start winning Majors again!
"The U.S. could use an American male player to start winning majors again!"
Let's see how far Roddick can get in this Open. This year, he has captured two titles (Brisbane and Miami), and is 40-10 so far in 2010.
Another notch in Roddick's belt is his strong Davis Cup participation record, representing the U.S. each year, although he announced recently that he will not play Davis Cup this year for the first time since 2001. He suffered with mononucleosis early in the summer season.
Although he has been America's best male player for years now, yet has only won one Major title, most guys won't feel sorry for him. He's married to Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker.
And if Roddick does not win another Major title, will any other Americans step up? As long as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal dominate, it could be quite a while before that happens.
Be sure to visit Ann's web site at www.annliguori.com and order copies of her book and her interviews on DVDs with some of the top names in sports.
