Message to American Tennis Fans: Buy Roddick Stock Now

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Message to American Tennis Fans: Buy Roddick Stock Now

By Chris Oddo

Photo Credit: Paul Gilham/ Getty

(July 11, 2012)—If tennis players were stocks, Andy Roddick would be a blue-chipper. Nine straight years of top-ten finishes (which finally ended in 2011), a game-changing serve that is slump-proof, and a heart the size of his home state of Texas make it so.

Since it is so, and since Roddick is currently ranked a paltry 27 in the ATP rankings (can you say undervalued?), I'd say it's a good time to unload some more of your Donald Young or Brian Baker stock and pick up some of those good old, tried-and-true Roddick shares.

With a game that is more brawn sprinkled with beauty than beauty sprinkled with brawn, Roddick is the perfect tennis stock to hold through the grueling American hardcourt summer. He's like the Caterpillar--CAT on your stock ticker--of the ATP tour. He's oversold at the moment, but just like that gargantuan manufacturer of construction and mining equipment (down 12.42% year-to-date), Roddick is destined to rally.

Why, you ask? Well, for one, blue-chippers like Andy Roddick, a player who has won a Grand Slam and is the second winningest Davis Cup performer in US history, don't forget how to win.

And, contrary to popular belief, he's not on the verge of retirement. He's 29 for gosh sakes, and as Serena Williams and Roger Federer so convincingly proved last week at Wimbledon: 30 is the new 20.

During Roddick’s conference call with the media to promote the Emirates US Open Series yesterday, retirement was not one of the subjects that was discussed. And it wasn't because us journalists were afraid of drawing the verbal ire of the sardonic American (well, that might have been part of it). It's because retirement is the furthest thing from the 29-year-old's mind at the moment.

What’s on his mind is playing his best tennis, and he made great strides in that direction at Eastbourne and Wimbledon, winning 7 of 8 matches on the grass.

"I'm not far off," said Roddick of the successful grass-court campaign, which featured his first title in nearly a year and a half. "I'm optimistic about the summer."

Could Roddick's 31st ATP title this summer be an indication that his stock is going to rally this summer? With the European clay a distant memory, and nothing but hard and grass court tennis between now and Roddick's 30th birthday (August 30), Roddick is in great shape to make a push, provided that he can get that cranky body of his in great shape too.

Staying fit, more than anything else, has been the reason that Roddick has not been able to sustain a high level of play this year.

"I think my challenge for the last year and a half has been a lot physical," said Roddick, who currently owns a 14-12 record for 2012. "When you're battling injuries, not playing your best, sometimes you lose, you're getting one match a week. It's kind of tough to create a groove or a flow. I got those matches in [in Eastbourne, where he won the title, and Wimbledon, where he lost to David Ferrer in the third round]. I'm playing a lot of tennis this summer. I'll certainly have every opportunity to get match play."

Getting wins on the ATP tour can sometimes prove to be as difficult as making money in a choppy stock market, but Roddick has begun to show the world that he’s ready to get back to his winning ways again after bottoming out at a 10-year-low ranking of 34 in March.

With five tournaments to play before the US Open this summer, Roddick will have the chance to build on his milestone summer, one that has already seen him notch his 600th career win, which leaves him as one of only two active ATP players with as many wins (Roger Federer is the other).

“Well, I think it started in Eastbourne,” said Roddick. “I had a very simple goal going into Eastbourne after the French Open. I wanted to get to 600 wins, which was a nice milestone. I wanted to win the tournament. [I] Was able to handle that there. And also I just wanted to feel good on the tennis court again. I wanted to feel like I was playing well. I did that. Now I'm excited about continuing that momentum into the summer and see if we can't make something happen.”