Andy Roddick has been the face of American tennis since the retirement of U.S. greats Pete Sampras (2003) and Andre Agassi (2006). While sometimes criticized for his lack of Grand Slam titles in an era dominated by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Roddick has been consistent, finishing in the ATP's Top Ten for nine straight years between 2002 and 2010, in addition to winning one Grand Slam title and playing in four other finals.
The Early Days
Roddick was born Aug. 30, 1982, in Omaha, Nebraska. He was the youngest of three boys, and he ended up following his brother John into tennis. John was a four-time All American at Georgia and he is the coach of Oklahoma's NCAA tennis program, as of 2011. "[John] played a lot before I did,'' Roddick told Juan Rodriguez of the Miami Herald. "He was pretty good in juniors and I always looked up to him and thought he was the best. He helped me through. He'd been through the experience before.'' Roddick moved to Florida to be closer to his brother, who was training there, and he eventually rose to the top of the Junior ranks when he became the first American to win the Australian Open Junior title since 1959 in 2000.
Turning Pro
Roddick turned pro in 2000 and in 2002 he became the first American teen to win an ATP title since Michael Chang in 1992. In 2003, the hard-serving Roddick won the U.S. Open and ended the year as the youngest American to ever finish a year with the No. 1 ranking. The fine form of Roddick prompted Sampras to make bold statements about Roddick's potential to W writer Robert Haskell. "Andy is the future," Sampras told him. "He's serve is devastating, and he's got all those intangibles required to be a great player."
The Near Misses: Grand Slam Finals
It appeared as though Roddick was tennis's next best thing in 2003 when he won the U.S. Open at the age of 20. But the player who won Wimbledon that same year would end up stealing his thunder on more than one occasion: Federer. In 2004, Roddick took an early lead against Federer in the Wimbledon final, but Federer prevailed in four sets. In 2005, Roddick would return to the Wimbledon final again only to be defeated by Federer in straight sets. Federer's domination of Roddick would be a consistent theme in Roddick's career. Roddick reached the finals of the 2006 U.S. Open and again at Wimbledon in 2009, but both times it was Federer who defeated him.
Davis Cup Heroics
Roddick passed Agassi in 2009 with his 31st Davis Cup singles win and now stands behind only John McEnroe in all-time Davis Cup wins for Americans, as of 2011. His record in Davis Cup clinching matches is 12-0.
The Body of Work
Roddick led the U.S. to a Davis Cup title in 2007 and he has proven to be one of the best servers in the history of the game. As of May 20011, he is second on the ATP's active all-time win list with 571, and third on the ATP's all-time title list with 30.
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