Andy Roddick celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday by announcing his retirement as Roger Federer, the great Grand Slam tormentor of the American, eased into the third round at the US Open.
Roddick, a former world number one, who won his only major title in New York in 2003, admitted his level was struggling to match the big three of Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic and he will quit once the US Open is over. “I have decided that this is going to be my last tournament,” said Roddick, who is guaranteed an emotional reception on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday night when he plays Australia’s Bernard Tomic for a place in the last 32.
“I feel it is the right time to do it. These other guys have gotten really, really good and I’m not interested in just existing on tour. I don’t want to disrespect the game by coasting home.”
Roddick’s annoucement came a day after Kim Clijsters, a four-time Grand Slam champion, suffered a second round defeat which sent her into retirement.
Roddick, whose ranking is now down at 22 in the world, lost to Federer in the Wimbledon finals of 2004, 2005 and 2009.
That last All England Club defeat, an epic match which ended 16-14 in the fifth set, was Roddick’s last memorable campaign and he has not got beyond the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam since. Top seed and five-time champion Federer reached the last 32 with an easy 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 win over Germany’s Bjorn Phau and next faces Spain’s Fernando Verdasco, whom he has beaten four times in four matches. Federer, bidding to become the first man to win six New York titles in the Open era, clinched the 90-minute match with his 15th ace after also firing 44 winners past the 32-year-old Phau, the world number 83.
