Roddick's Career Ends In Appropriate Fashion

Roddick could never return to form after his only major title in 2003.

When Andy Roddick announced in August that this U.S. Open would be his final tournament, it instantly became his tournament. He was going to dazzle the crowd with his overwhelming serve and he was going to will himself to a sunset title. The stage was all set for him to thrive off the raucous crowds, for him to find energy in standing ovations and snatch some sort of destiny that would empower him to victory. Yet, like most of Roddick's career he fell short, leaving us Americans a bitter taste on the tip of our tongues.

The fiesty American began his pro tennis career twelve years ago with the sort of talent, flash and dominate serving game that allowed Americans to feel comfortable with him rising out of the ashes of Sampras and Agassi's magical careers. With loads of junior titles to his name, it was looking more and more apparent that the United States had found its next superstar. He spent the first three years of his career chipping away at the world rankings, eventually exploding on the scene with a dominate 2003 in which he had career-best finishes in the Australian Open and the ATP Tour Finals. But 2003 was most memorable for him because it served as his first major victory at the '03 U.S. Open. In front of an explosive United States crowd Roddick undressed Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets and so fittingly aced him on the match point. It seemed as if Roddick was going to tear the tennis worlds to shreds with his almost unstoppable serve. That feeling was taken to even greater heights when he was given the #1 world ranking, a status he would only hold for one year.

Now its not to say the ship sank on him in the years after, but he certainly wasn't on a upward trend. He made the Wimbledon finals in both '04 and '05 only to be outdone by Roger Federer each time. In the Australian Open he reached a tournament-best semi-finals appearance in 2005 and again in '07 and '09, but he never could break through. The French Open wasn't even on his radar as he never cracked the fourth round. Roddick was competitive in those years, putting together solid tournaments here and there but he left us with an empty bag of hype and and a hollow trophy case that made us yearn for more.

So when this year's U.S. Open rolled around there was a fresh, new buzz around him that kind of said, "Hey, why not bring the magic back one more time?" He was wearing a fitting USA-themed outfit with a classy shirt and a pair of wildly cool shoes, what could go wrong? But instead, in classic Roddick fashion, we were let down. He coasted his way into the Round of 16 before meeting a stronger, more athletic, simply fresher Juan Martin del Potro. After winning a scintillating first set, Roddick dropped the second in equally dramatic fashion. It was all but obvious that del Potro was gaining steam as Roddick was withering. Old age (in tennis years) caught up to him in this tournament despite his serve being as electric as ever and a sense of necessary accomplishment hanging over his head. Tabbing his final U.S. Open as a microcosm of his career is pretty accurate with it being an underachieving, disappointing dare I say heartbreaking, event.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Andy Roddick fan. He was my favorite player and not only because he was an American (though that played a huge role in my choice). Roddick played with this intensity and vigor that brought back memories of John McEnroe, even if Andy was a bit more tame. He was a likeable guy off the court, who brought a powerful and vicious game to the nets that at times was a bit too much to handle. His overpowering serve and ball-shredding forehand made him one of those players you'll never forget, even though most of his career was almost entirely forgettable. What makes it even more depressing is that he seems to be the last of the great American tennis players, with very few young guns in the making. There's a true element of sadness for the casual tennis fan like myself who rooted for Roddick because he repped the red, white and blue as best as he could.

In a tournament and career that was meant to be, Andy Roddick left us hanging, grasping for something was never there. Either way we thank you for taking us with you on your rollercoaster ride, even if we simply ended up puking at the end. Enjoy the tennis afterlife Andy.