During this year’s US Open, on his 30th birthday, American tennis star Andy Roddick announces his retirement from professional tennis. As he draws the curtain on a career most would term as anything short of spectacular, one stops to ponder if he has called it quits a tad bit early. If there’s one thing I have learnt about this Texas native, is that he is either all in or all out, no half ways. So, if he has made a decision to close this chapter of his life, it is not without good reason.
“You know, just with the way my body feels, with the way that I’m able to feel like I’m able to compete now, I don’t know that it’s good enough. I don’t know that I’ve ever been someone who’s interested in existing on tour” explains Roddick when questioned about his decision.
As one looks at Roddick’s career over the years it is difficult to see where he fits in, amidst all the talk of greatness looming over Federer, the clay domination of Nadal and the rise of Novak Djokovic. Ever since his first and, to date, only triumph on the Grand Slam stage, at the 2003 US Open, he has fallen victim to the tag of a “one slam wonder”. Roddick’s apt reaction to this: “Well that’s one more than most”. Having seen success at an early age could pose as a disadvantage to most with the burden of expectations wearing them down. But Roddick was not one to complain. If anything, the guy thrived under pressure.
After the retirement of Pete in 2003 and with Andre’s career coming to a close, Roddick played the lead role in US men’s tennis as long as one can remember. For the major part of his career, he had been the lone flag-bearer for America at the business end of major tournaments. With the huge gap in the depth of American men players in the post-Andre/Pete era, Andy wasn’t one to shy away from the spotlight and picked up where the likes of Courier, Chang left off. Though these were big shoes to fill, he was eager to rise to the occasion and led the USA to a Davis Cup victory in 2007 after a lapse of 12 years.
The 2009 Wimbledon final has stuck in the minds of most tennis fans, not only because of the historical numbers (longest fifth set in the men’s final, Federer breaking Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slam titles) or the quality of tennis but more so due to how valiantly Roddick fought and persevered for the duration of that five-set epic. In his post-match press conference when asked how he would bounce back after this, his answer was precise “What do you do? You keep moving forward until you decide to stop,” Roddick said. “At this point, I’ve not decided to stop, so I’ll keep moving forward.” This epitomizes what Roddick truly is. A fighter, not a quitter and his entire tennis playing career is living proof of this.
Consistency is another word that comes to mind when one talks of Roddick. He finished inside the top 10 in end of year rankings for 9 consecutive years and maintained his record of capturing ATP World Tour titles for 12 straight seasons before retiring. Amassing a total of 32 singles titles and achieving his 600th tour-level match win in 2012, are numbers not to be taken lightly.
Hard work and perseverance were second nature to him. If ever Roddick were to lose a match, it can safely be said it wasn’t due to a lack of effort on his part. In an interview to the New York Times, Aussie Coach and former tour player, Darren Cahill rightly put: “I know there are better tennis players than Andy Roddick at the moment,” Cahill said. “But if I’m going to pick anyone in the world to come and represent my country, to provide a culture for younger players to look up to, to show a work ethic that is the standard for everyone, to fight for their country, and to win clutch matches, Andy Roddick would be just about the first person I would pick”.
In a sport, where success is gauged by the number of Grand Slam titles a player amasses, one can easily overlook giving due recognition to the likes of Roddick. But, with his quick-wit, never-say-die attitude and a humble appreciation of his peers, Andy was the epitome of a true entertainer who won the hearts of millions in the process. And it can be said without a shadow of a doubt that the tennis world will miss his presence.
Great writeup Saba!
Well said!
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