Andy Roddick... A Year later
At the beginning of the 2009 tennis season down under at the Australian Open, there was a fair amount of buzz surrounding Andy Roddick, his trimmer physique (apparently Roddick had shed 15 pounds in the off season) and his new coach, Larry Stefanki. After writing him off, many pundits reconsidered Roddick’s
chances of capturing his second Grand Slam title to complement his win at the 2003 U.S. Open. However, although a lot has happened to Roddick in the past year, Andy still only owns one Grand Slam title.
Currently ranked seventh, Roddick was a spot higher at number 6 a year ago. Andy won one title in 2009 at this time last year in Memphis and reached three other finals including Wimbledon where he lost an epic heart-breaking five-setter to Roger Federer. In 2010, Andy has already won in Brisbane and lost to Fernando Verdasco in the San Jose final. However, for the perennial top tenner and number one ranked American for the past decade, another Grand Slam is the real goal for Roddick.
There will be several challenges facing Roddick this year as he continues his Grand Slam quest. Roddick’s 2009 season ended prematurely due to a knee injury and he was hampered by a slight shoulder injury during his quarterfinal loss to Marin Cilic at the 2010 Australian Open. Injuries can start to impact a player’s career at any stage, but they often present more of a challenge after a player has competed on Tour as long as Roddick has. Roddick has also chosen not to play Davis Cup in 2010 to save his body a bit by not changing surfaces so frequently which he felt could adversely affect his knee.
Roddick must also feel some pressure from fellow Americans, Sam Querrey and John Isner, who have both beaten Roddick in the last six months and also improved their rankings. There are also so many strong challengers for Grand Slam titles in addition to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, i.e. Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro, etc. The mental and physical grind of the Tour become slightly less appealing for top players when one isn’t winning as much or realistically challenging for Grand Slams. There's no question that Roddick will be a contender at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, but this season and next could prove pivotal for Roddick as he turns 28 in August.
Currently ranked seventh, Roddick was a spot higher at number 6 a year ago. Andy won one title in 2009 at this time last year in Memphis and reached three other finals including Wimbledon where he lost an epic heart-breaking five-setter to Roger Federer. In 2010, Andy has already won in Brisbane and lost to Fernando Verdasco in the San Jose final. However, for the perennial top tenner and number one ranked American for the past decade, another Grand Slam is the real goal for Roddick.
There will be several challenges facing Roddick this year as he continues his Grand Slam quest. Roddick’s 2009 season ended prematurely due to a knee injury and he was hampered by a slight shoulder injury during his quarterfinal loss to Marin Cilic at the 2010 Australian Open. Injuries can start to impact a player’s career at any stage, but they often present more of a challenge after a player has competed on Tour as long as Roddick has. Roddick has also chosen not to play Davis Cup in 2010 to save his body a bit by not changing surfaces so frequently which he felt could adversely affect his knee.
Roddick must also feel some pressure from fellow Americans, Sam Querrey and John Isner, who have both beaten Roddick in the last six months and also improved their rankings. There are also so many strong challengers for Grand Slam titles in addition to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, i.e. Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro, etc. The mental and physical grind of the Tour become slightly less appealing for top players when one isn’t winning as much or realistically challenging for Grand Slams. There's no question that Roddick will be a contender at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, but this season and next could prove pivotal for Roddick as he turns 28 in August.
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