Tennis Siesta

It's the tennis off-season, you know what that means? Andy playing lots of charities and impersonating other players, yay! Here's one I hadn't seen before, Andy does Pete Sampras:



If you missed seeing Andy and Serena play at World Team Tennis last night the entire video is available free online. To sum up: Andy is quite rusty, Serena beat Andy again, Elton John has a wicked forehand, it was a fun time had by all.



Mary Carillo says she senses that Andy Roddick could be one of 2010's big tennis stories. Let's hope so! If anybody deserves to have a great year, it's Andy.

* * *

Andy in ACE magazine. Scan courtesy of claire.

My brain went on an extended tennis siesta after Andy lost to John Isner at the US Open, and when he came up lame vs Stan Wawrinka in Shanghai I was almost relieved that he was forced to sit out the rest of the year so that I would have an excuse not to watch any more tennis. Seriously, I may be a tennis nerd but the season is too freaking long.

Catching up on some Roddick news:

SI mailbag, December 9:

What's your best tennis memory from 2009? —Kate C., New York

JON WERTHEIM: Here's a less obvious one. I'm watching Andy Roddick play John Isner during the middle weekend of the U.S. Open. I turn around and see a vaguely familiar face. Eventually I realize that it's Jerry Roddick. He's sitting in the stands, far from the players' box, where television cameras are unlikely to find him. Some context here: In his previous Grand Slam, Andy Roddick reached the Wimbledon final and, of course, lost heartbreakingly to Federer in the fifth set. As the match progresses, Jerry Roddick is a statue. His facial expression doesn't change. There's no outward emotion. No cheering and scowls over unforced errors or bad line calls. The match goes to a fifth set. Then a tiebreaker. Isner dials in his serves and -- just like that -- Roddick is eliminated from another Grand Slam in a five-setter, a few points making all the difference. You can only imagine what it must be like watching your son lose like this yet again. But, as thousands of fans go nuts, Jerry Roddick grimaces a tiny bit, shakes his head as if to say, win-some, lose-some, and leaves his seat and walks onto the concourse unnoticed, his head buried in a baseball cap but held high. In a sport (culture at large?) that doesn't always do restraint and dignity real well, I was struck by this.

City and Shore magazine: "Advantage Andy Roddick: Tennis star wraps an extraordinary year with ninth charity weekend":

C&S: What was it about Brooklyn Decker that made her the one?

AR: I 'stalked' Brooklyn because she was so beautiful and informed about all sports. Curiosity got the best of me. I somehow managed a date and fell in love with a truly beautiful and intelligent woman. How lucky can one guy be?

C&S: Brooklyn has been credited with encouraging you to reinvigorate your game. True?

AR: To be successful, you need people to believe in you. Brooklyn is my biggest fan and the most positive person I know.

C&S: Any goals for 2010?

AR: Winning Wimbledon is at the top of my list.

Click on the link above for more interesting Q&A.

Charles Bricker: "Looking at the 2010 Andy Roddick":

Why has Roddick improved? Here are the salient points:

• Higher fitness level after some weight loss.

• Higher confidence in the longer rallies. He has never been as good as he is today grinding points, and that accounts in part for his best-ever round-of-16 finish at the French Open.

• Transition game. It's still a work in progress, but compare Roddick's work inside the service line today with even a year ago. He's a more solid volleyer. His footwork around the net is better. Most of all, his flow to the net from the backcourt is smarter, more technically sound.

[. . .] He will continue to be a factor at the three fast-court Slams because, unlike a lot of players who just sort of "play it out" in their late 20s, Roddick continues to learn.

Click on the link above to read more of Bricker's breakdown of Andy's improvements.


Cute Andy icon created by Ethan at RF.com

I Don't Mean To Brag But...

...the World's Best Worst Tennis Player has been ensconced in the Top Ten for eight years straight now (seven years in the top eight). Andy finishes his 2009 year at world number seven. Vamos, Andy!



SI mailbag, November 11:

Hopefully this makes the mailbag because I just killed two hours of "work-time" researching this. Hi, Jon, something for all of the anti-Roddites out there: Roddick and Federer will finish the year in the top 10 for the seventh consecutive year. The only other players to accomplish the feat (since the ATP began keeping rankings in 1973) are: Connors (16 years in a row), Ivan Lendl (13), Sampras (12), Stefan Edberg (10), Guillermo Vilas (9), Andre Agassi (8 in a row and 16 of 18), Boris Becker (8), Bjorn Borg (8), John McEnroe (8) and Mats Wilander (7). Not a bad list to be included in. —Blake Redabaugh, Denver

JON WERTHEIM: Next time we read one of those grim reports about productivity, we'll think of you, Blake Redabaugh. I would like some consulting firm to study what percent of "work time" is devoted to on-line fun. Anyway, according to the ATP, Blake is correct. And, yes, this does speak well of Roddick.

I've written this before, but I've noticed that the "anti-Roddites" seem to be an international movement that uses Roddick as a sort of "tennis pr0xy" for everything they don't like about the United States in general: Lots of power but a deficit of nuance. A certain cowboy swagger. Wit and irony that, while funny and familiar to those of us who watch Jon Stewart, sometimes gets lost in translation. Assuming the polls and anecdotal evidence are to be believed, the global impression of the U.S. has surged in the past week. Maybe Roddick's popularity in the Republic of Tennis will spike accordingly.

In Wifey News...

Brooklyn is climbing her way up the high-end modeling ladder. She has recently modeled for Elle's new "Make Better" fitness/healthy/beauty DVDs, she talks about it here. There is more information about the DVDs here, where you can also purchase.

Kanye West Interrupts Roger Federer

Via KanyeGate. Thanks for the laugh.

If you don't get the joke, watch this. Yes, it was staged, just like the Eminem/Bruno incident at the MTV Movie Awards earlier this year was also staged. These awards shows are so bad that they've become desperate for ratings. It's no wonder I haven't watched them in years.

btw, Federer and Nadal were joked about on "90210" last night:

"Aren't you supposed to be like Federer or something?"

"Nah more like Nadal."

Haha. It's nice to see tennis mentioned in popular culture.

Andy Roddick on David Letterman Tonight

Updated August 28, 2009

Andy's appearance on David Letterman last night was great. Andy was relaxed and funny and best of all, no holes in his jeans! Although wearing black socks with brown shoes is a no-no. C'mon Brooklyn, help fix your man's wardrobe. :)

The US Open Facebook page has lots of photos of Andy making the rounds yesterday. Check them out. But those pics of Andy wearing a Yankees baseball cap? Ow, my eyes, my eyes...







. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Originally posted August 27, 2009

Today is a busy day for Andy Roddick, and for his fans whose DVR's will be busy.

For the first time ever, the US Open draw was announced live on ESPNews early this afternoon. Andy is in Roger Federer's half of the draw, and in Novak Djokovic's quarter. Nadal, Murray, and Del Potro are all on the other side. Andy's first-round opponent will be Germany's Bjorn Phau.

At 1:00pm today, Andy threw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Yankees-Rangers baseball game.


NEW YORK - AUGUST 27: Tennis player Andy Roddick throws out the first pitch of the game between the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers on August 27, 2009 at Yankees Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Getty Images)

This afternoon, Andy will tape his guest appearance on The David Letterman Show, which will air tonight (Thurs., August 27) at 11:35pm EST. This is Andy's first appearance on Letterman in six years.


Later on this evening, Andy will attend the 10th annual BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis. Also attending will be Lleyton Hewitt, Tommy Haas, Billie Jean King and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who will cook-up culinary aces alongside TV personality and celebrity chef Bethenny Frankel, Carla Hall and Ariane Duarte from Bravo’s “Top Chef,” and Gotham Bar and Grill’s Alfred Portale.

On Saturday, Andy will attend 2009 Arthur Ashe Kids' Day which will air on Sunday, Aug. 30 (Andy's 27th birthday!) on CBS from 12:00pm - 1:30pm EST. I will also be attending AAKD, yippee! Click here for more info if you want to go to AAKD. Other players who are planning to attend: Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters, James Blake, and Rafael Nadal. A superstar roster, for sure.

Also on Sunday, ESPN Classic will re-air the classic Roddick-Nalbandian 2003 USO semifinal at 7:00pm EST. If you have ESPN Classic and never saw this match I highly recommend it. As one Twitter fan put it, "This was the match that made me a Roddick fan." He wasn't the only one.

Andy, Bobby, and a Huge Bucket of Fail

The Object: You have ten chances to get Andy Roddick's serve back.

Result: Lifetime humiliation and an honorable mention at the Fail Blog.



Click here to listen to the "Bobby Vs. Andy's Serve" podcast, and here's their preview of the showdown from the day before.

Click here to browse other Bobby Bones podcasts.

Roddick Rains on Murraymania Parade

SF: Roddick def Murray 
6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5)

And I'm still over the moon about it, nor can I quite put into words what I'm feeling. What a legendary performance from Andy Roddick. No doubt this ranks as one of his best wins in his career.

As it happened: Andy Murray vs Andy Roddick, Wimbledon 2009 [The Guardian]

Nobody gave Andy a snowball's chance in hell of beating Murray. Not any "expert" or pundit, not the bettors sites, not his own fans and defenders (not even me), and certainly not the British media who have been drunk on Murraymania all week long and had looked past Roddick in anticipation of their "dream final" of Murray vs Federer.

Larry Stefanki and Team Roddick did not get that memo. They had a master plan worked out and Roddick executed it beautifully. The world ate a massive piece of humble pie when the forgotten and dismissed champion, Andy Roddick, sent the Scottish hero home to bed without any supper. Eat up, everyone. Om nom nom.


Here's a video of Andy's interview with Mary Carillo and John McEnroe after his semifinal win over Andy Murray. You can see just how much the win meant to him and how humbled he is by making another Wimbledon final, something he thought he'd never do again.

"I feel like the guy who shot Bambi." — Andy Roddick, on beating Murray


And here is Andy's after-match oncourt interview with the BBC. If you saw this live tell me you did not tear up watching this. I don't cry often over sports but seeing Andy collapse on the stairs while the Wimbledon club members applauded him really got me choked up. Mary Carillo said Andy did not know that the cameraman was right behind him. What a moment.

Video: Roddick beats Murray then collapses



"Our Andy beat your Andy!" — gleeful headline from ESPN's Sportscenter

Collection of Web Headlines

Andy Wins Five-Set Thriller

Updated July 2, 2009

The USTA has begun rolling out its new US Open series commercials, "It Must Be Love", featuring several tennis players talking about how great it is to play the summer North American hardcourts. Here's Andy's video. You can view other players including Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Serena and Venus Williams here.

New US Open Series commercial: It Must Be Love

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Updated July 2, 2009

ESPN Video: Andy Roddick on Advancing to the Semifinals


Related news items:
• "Roddick kept career on track" [SF Gate, Bruce Jenkins]

A lesser man would have retreated by now. Perhaps not an outright retirement, but a slow fade into irrelevance. Credit Andy Roddick - "the best bad tennis player of all time," as he jokingly calls himself - for offering a remarkable study in perseverance.

• "Roddick has gotten crafty in his advanced age" [WSJ]

When he arrived on the tour in 2000, Andy Roddick had a thunderous 140 mph serve and little regard for finesse, not unlike a young Nolan Ryan or Randy Johnson. These days, Mr. Roddick, 26, still unloads on the ball, but it’s his Greg Maddux-like craftiness that allows him to remain the best server in tennis.

• "Hewitt writes off Roddick's chances against Murray" [AFP]

"I think it's going to be a tough one for Roddick to win. When I've seen Andy Murray at his best, I think he matches up extremely well against Roddick," said Hewitt. "A couple years ago I saw them play here because they were in my section, and Murray took care of him convincingly. Murray's a lot better player now than he was then. Roddick's going to have to play a helluva match to beat him."

• "At Wimbledon, Andy Roddick flies solo as America's ace" [NY Daily News, Filip Bondy]

Maybe it's time we stop picking on Andy Roddick.

This is no easy resolution, because Roddick is the only men's tennis player we get to kick around in America. He is, by default, the sole target for our frustration, rage and impatience. If we must rant about our limitations with a racket, about our six years without a single Grand Slam title, then Roddick is the guy.

• "Roddick wants to do more than show up" [NY Times, Christopher Clarey]

After succeeding in working his way back into the conversation at the top of men’s tennis, now comes the harder part for Andy Roddick: winning the argument.

• "Don't count out Andy Roddick at Wimbledon" [NY Daily News, Mike Lupica]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

QF: Roddick def Hewitt 
6-3, 6-7 (10-12), 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-4

It's like 2002 all over again with the "New Balls" (now Old Balls, as Andy said in his presser) Andy, Lleyton Hewitt, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and Tommy Haas all in the quarterfinals. I'd add Federer to the list but he's been there all along; with these four it's more like a class reunion.

Reporter: It's a bit of a revival of the 'New Balls Please' campaign right now in the quarter-finals, yes?

Andy Roddick: Now we're just Old Balls. (entire room dies laughing)

This is Andy's fourth Wimbledon semifinal appearance in his career.

ESPN Video: Roddick Outlasts Hewitt To Reach Semis


So it's Andy vs Andy in the semis. The 'real' Andy versus the 'other' Andy (depending on where you live). That will be a crazy match. Keep it going, Andy. As Michael Jackson would say, Don't stop 'til you get enough.

What They're Saying on Twitter

andyroddick 124 home...... 4 left

Wimbledon Roddick says playing Murray will be something to remember. "I'm going to pretend when they say 'C'mon Andy!' that they're shouting for me!"

dougspreen Now that was not a match that was a war. Great win in 5 tough sets today for Andy. Very, very proud of him!!! Toughness and heart!!

Andy Roddick's Beast of Burden

I hate to say it but I'm having a hard time getting into Wimbledon this year, partly due to Rafael Nadal having to withdraw. Whether you're a fan of his or not for a slam to not have its defending champion play at all is a big loss. I've been watching some of the matches with one eye open but I've mostly been distracted by the Iranian election protests, and then on Thursday two 80s icons, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, died. Talk about a punch to the stomach. When the news of Jackson's death hit the internet I was feeling rather discombobulated about it all. I was surprised how much his death had affected me.

I'm not surprised that Jackson's death affected the tennis players, many of whom were born around the time Jackson ruled the airwaves (and MTV back when they used to play music videos):

Andy Roddick via Twitter:
oh my lord..... michael jackson died........ RIP sad and surreal

regardless of what u think of him he was completely revolutionary and will be missed

@mrbobbybones yeah absolutely this is a worldwide thing ... goes without saying. its continuin coverage on all major newsfeeds here
2:16 AM Jun 26th from web

Roger Federer said this:

Q. Where were you and what were your immediate thoughts when you heard the news that Michael Jackson had died?

ROGER FEDERER: I was at the house late last night. Obviously, you know, I love his music. It wasn't clear, you know, what had happened, you know. So I waited for sort of to see what's gonna happen and the confirmation.

Sure, a very sad moment I think in the music world. You know, he touched many people. Same for me. But I'll obviously still listen to his music for many more years to come.

Q. What do you consider the aspect that you appreciate the most of his performances?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I remember, I don't know, back maybe in '88 or '89, he came to Basel. I was outside of the stadium, because there was such excitement that he would come. I was still very young. I think I went there with my sister, and we just listened from the outside, you know.

Yeah, always listened to his music. And, yeah, it's sad. You know, it really is.

And Serena Williams paid her respects to the King of Pop:

Q. What did Michael Jackson mean to you personally? Would you think about dedicating today's victory perhaps?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I mean, he was a great guy, a complete icon. Words can't express my shock and horror, you know, just thoughts and prayers that go out to him and his family and just everything. It's just terrible, terrible, terrible thing.

I'm surprised nobody has elicited a response from Novak Djokovic about Jackson's death because Novak did a great dance routine of "Thriller" at the Monte Carlo party this year:



As for Farrah, my sister and I used to watch "Charlie's Angels" all the time. We had the dolls, the hideaway house, the Farrah bust where you could style her famous hair and put on her makeup. We could never get the hair to look like the real-life Farrah's. Many people hated that show but to little girls like us, Charlie's Angles' were the original Girl Power supergroup. RIP to both Ms. Fawcett and Mr. Jackson.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Getting back to the tennis, with regards to this blog post's title, ESPN aired a nice profile of Andy's trials and tribulations of living in the Federer-Nadal era. Watch it here. And good luck to Andy today, I hope he can beat Tomas Berdych in straight sets.