Andy Roddick was supposed to lose to Roger Federer on Sunday. After all, going into the match his career mark against the Great One was a staggering 2-18. In Grand Slams, the Swiss Sensation had bested the American in all seven of their matchups, with only one contest reaching a fourth set. Tennis legends Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, and Pete Sampras joined thousands of fans at the All England Club expecting to see Federer cruise to his record 15th Grand Slam victory. To everyone there, Andy Roddick was supposed to play the role of Brett Favre laying down for Michael Strahan to record the single season sack record. Only one problem: someone forgot to tell Andy.
What transpired over the four hour and fifteen minute contest goes beyond the numbers that describe it: 77 aces, 181 winners, 77 total games, 436 total points. The final set lasted thirty games – more than most expected the entire match would take. What made this Wimbledon so different for Andy? How did David manage to hang with Goliath – no, challenge Goliath – for so long... Other than a 135 mile per hour serve of course? Like many underdogs, Andy relied on the most innate competitive instinct: heart.
To say the past three years were difficult for the American would be an understatement. His last Grand Slam final came in 2006, and since then he suffered a number of injuries, went through a highly-publicized coaching change, and saw his ranking slip as low as #12 in the world. After defeating hometown favorite Andy Murray in the semi finals, Roddick discussed the turbulent years, saying “Brook (his wife) and I had a lot of talks on… if I still thought I could play…. I definitely openly questioned it at that point.” Later, cameras caught him in a rare emotional moment as he broke down in the conference lobby, revealing how much the opportunity to compete in the finals meant to him.
After the epic five-set saga against Federer, one could not help but feel bad for Andy. He choked up numerous times in the on-court interview following the match, and his passion for the game of tennis felt genuine. He expressed his desire to join the all-time greats among the list of Wimbledon champions. After the match, many analysts called the finals a “moral victory” for Roddick, but like a true competitor the American saw no silver lining. Asked to describe what he did that day, Andy replied; “I lost.”
It was refreshing to see a professional athlete display so much genuine passion and respect for the sport he plays. Though Federer is certainly a legendary champion and deserves all the accolades, when asked if he was “the happiest person (after winning)”, he answered “I don’t know. I mean, I’m very happy. I don’t know if I’m the happiest person in the world. I don’t think so.” One can only imagine how Andy would have replied.
I, for one, am hoping he gets that opportunity at Flushing Meadows.
Awesome article. Definitely pointed out things that sports talk radio, ESPN, and major newspaper don't. It's nice to hear something about Roddick in addition to Federer instead of just the latter.
ReplyDeleteAs a dedicated Federer fanatic, I had never rooted against him, or never rooted for his opponent - until Sunday. As an American on July 5, and as a sportsfan who admires poise and grit under pressure, Roddick's play and determination were compelling. You had to admire the way he dusted himself off after flubbing second set tiebreaker (up 6-2, with 4 set points), and just kept plugging away and never losing his serve until 15-14 in the 5th. I too was taken by the "I lost" comment - no psycho babble, no sugar coating, no "feel good" crap. Although, after all those shots of Roddick's new hot bride-babe, one gets the feeling he didn't have that bad of a night after the match......
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