Even Without the Slams, Roddick Is Still An American Great

By Joe McDonald

(August 30, 2012) -- It just won’t be the same without Andy Roddick at the US Open.

The quick wit and the wisenheimer remarks at stupid questions surely kept the press on its toes.

In fact, at his retirement party presser, he seemed to be in midseason form. Quipping about what he would miss the most: “All of you,” he joked.

But this announcement had serious reflection, too. “I’m lucky enough there are a lot of players where I live [in Austin, TX]," Roddick explained about his future ties to the sport. "I don’t think I’m one of the guys who won’t pick up a racquet for three years. I still love the innocent parts of the game. I love hitting tennis balls. I love seeing the young guys do well.

“I still have a lot of friends to watch I’ll miss the relationships probably the most.”

Well American tennis will miss Roddick. For better or worse, he held the mantle of its face since Andre Agassi retired back in 2006. He retires a champion with a major win in Flushing back in 2003, while going to three Wimbledon finals and losing and also dropping the 2006 Open -- all of them to Roger Federer.

And unfortunately for Roddick, he played in an era with the greatest player of all time. He won’t have the same career cache as Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras or Agassi, because Federer was just one step ahead of him. No matter how hard he played, he couldn’t break through against the Swiss Master.

Even the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Yankees in 1955, but Roddick just couldn’t beat Federer.

Even in retirement, he couldn’t dodge a Federer question.

“I didn’t want to make it through the press conference without a direct comparison to Roger Federer,” he joked when asked.

But it’s true: McEnroe was able to beat Connors, Bjorn Borg, and Ivan Lendl. Sampras and Agassi traded finals a number of times, but Roddick just couldn’t beat the Swiss Master.

In that way, he was like the Patrick Ewing Knicks who couldn’t break through against the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls. Roddick is a sure-fire Hall of Famer and unlike Ewing he does have a championship to his name.

That doesn’t mean he wasn’t a great player. Go to any United States player on the tour and they will rave about how Roddick invited them to Austin to hit some balls. He is a mentor to Ryan Harrison and Jack Sock, while being buddies with James Blake and Mardy Fish.

“Mardy is real good with the younger guys,” he said. “I think John [Isner] is ready and Ryan will play well once he figured everything out. Doesn’t change the fact that I still live four miles away from him. I’ll still kick his ass.”

On that end, he’s is an ambassador for the game. And now he will continue working with the younger players.

It’s also unfortunate that Roddick also took over the mantle after Agassi, who was larger than life and Roddick can sometimes come across as a wisenheimer. That doesn’t mean he didn’t leave his mark on the tennis world. In fact, his job may have been harder due to the era he was playing.

It’s more of a global game now, and there are more top players coming from Europe. Also there are more foreign tournaments. Roddick said the other night when he started there were around 22 tournaments in the US, while now you have around 13 or 14.

But don’t cry for Andy. He had a great career. He now goes home to his beautiful wife Brooklyn Decker and says will concentrate on his foundation. Life is still good.

He also hinted at a broadcasting career. With his quick wit, he would be perfect in the booth, so maybe, just maybe he isn’t finished with Flushing Meadows. Rather he will be back next year in a different role.

We can only hope.