Flashback: Roddick's Inspired Win Over Federer in Miami

Andy Roddick's inspired upset win over Roger Federer last year in Miami still has people talking. Was it also Federer's last appearance at the event as well?

By Erik Gudris

(March 22nd, 2013) -- When Andy Roddick said, "I feel like something good is coming." after winning his opening round match last year in Miami, many thought he was just being overly optimistic. After all, his opponent in the next round was none other than Roger Federer, a man who had dominated their overall head to head meetings.

But perhaps Roddick knew what he was talking about all along.

The former Miami champion faced off against Federer in a night match that still has people buzzing a year later. After taking the first set in a tiebreak, Roddick got blown out in the second set with many thinking he might have run out of gas. But the American put in a truly inspired performance in the final set, ripping forehand winners with a velocity that was once seen during his early days on tour as he broke Federer early in the decider.

Roddick held on to his break advantage and found himself serving for the upset at 5-4. Though he faced a stiff challenge from Federer, Roddick unleashed one final huge serve to close out the stunning 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-4 win, only his third victory against Federer in 24 meetings in his career.

READ -- Miami Madness: Roddick Turns Back the Clock, Stuns Federer

Later Roddick, who was often seen during the match pointing upwards and talking to himself, revealed that he felt the presence of his recently deceased long-time agent Ken Myerson.

“My agent was from here and his wife was here,” said Roddick. “You know, I felt like I was a crazy person because I think I was having full dialogues with him the last 30 minutes of the match. So, you know, I was just letting him know that I heard him and I was equally crazy tonight.”

But, as we now know, there was also another emotional undercurrent running through this match that only few people at the time were aware of. At the start of the season, Roddick had made the decision that 2012 would be his last year on tour. That he was able to beat Federer in what would be their last ever meeting must have felt awfully sweet for Roddick since he knew his career was coming to a close.

Perhaps Federer, who spoke of glowing terms about Roddick after the match knew of Roddick's decision himself when he said, “I hope you guys give him more credit than he's getting at the moment. I'm happy to see him play really well, you know. He's a great champion, and, yeah, enjoy him while you have him.”

In some ways, those words from Federer could ironically be describing himself these days. Federer chose not to play Miami this year as part of a reduced schedule and there's no guarantee that he will ever play the event again. Could it be that his match against Roddick will be his own final ever appearance at a tournament he's won twice?

We won't know the answer to that for some time, but until then we can always look back at this battle between Federer and Roddick as one of their best meetings ever. Roddick may have been on the losing end in his record against perhaps the greatest ever to play the game, but his surprising and heartfelt final victory against Federer will long remain as one of the major highlights of his career.