Andy Roddick

American Andy Roddick is a former top-ranked professional tennis player who won the 2003 U.S. Open men's singles title.

Andy Roddick was born on August 30, 1982, in Omaha, Nebraska. At age 18, he was named the top-ranked junior tennis player in the world and he turned pro. In 2003, Roddick triumphed at the U.S. Open to win his only Grand Slam title, though he reached the finals of a major four other times. Married to model and actress Brooklyn Decker, he retired from tennis in 2012.

Andrew Stephen Roddick was born on August 30, 1982, in Omaha, Nebraska. As a junior competitor, he won six world singles and seven doubles titles. In 2000, he was named the top-ranked junior player in the United States and the world, and turned pro that same year.

Roddick had a successful early professional career, winning three tournaments, including the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., in 2001. That same year, he made his first appearance as a member of the Davis Cup team.

In 2003, at age 21, Roddick had a career breakthrough: He won his first Grand Slam title with a victory against Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero at the U.S. Open. Later that year, he took over the No. 1 ranking in the world, becoming one of the few American players to hold both a Grand Slam title and the No. 1 ranking in the same year. He was named the ATP Player of the Year for 2003.

In 2007, Roddick won two singles tournaments: The Legg Mason Tennis Classic (for the third time) and the Artois Championships (for the fourth time). That same year, he established a record by claiming his 18th consecutive tiebreak victory. By the end of 2007, Roddick—coached by tennis legend Jimmy Connors—was ranked fifth by the ATP.

In 2008, Roddick hired a new coach, Larry Stefanki, who had trained such star players as John McEnroe. He made it to the final at Wimbledon in 2009, his fourth Grand Slam final since the 2003 U.S. Open, but lost to rival Roger Federer. He would lose to Federer at Wimbledon again in 2010.

Roddick had suffered a knee injury in 2009, which set him back in training, and endured a serious shoulder surgery following his Wimbledon loss in 2010. Later that year, he announced that he had mononucleosis, a viral infection that includes symptoms similar to that of the flu. Around the same time, he experienced a groin and separate shoulder injury.

In August 2012, the 30-year-old announced plans to retire from tennis. Just days after the announcement, he played in his last tournament, the 2012 U.S. Open, losing in the fourth round to Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro. Following the tournament, Roddick made an announcement to fans: "For the first time in my career I'm not sure what to say," he said. "I loved every minute of it. A lot of ups, a lot of downs, a lot of great moments. I've appreciated your support along the way."

Off the court, Roddick has become quite the celebrity over the years. People magazine named him its "Sexiest Athlete" in 2003. That same year, he gained fame by hosting Saturday Night Live. Over the past decade, he has appeared on several magazine covers, from Rolling Stone to Men's Fitness.

In 2001, Roddick established the Andy Roddick Foundation, which aims to support at-risk and underprivileged children. His philanthropy earned him the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award in 2005 and 2007.

Roddick and American model and actress Brooklyn Decker began dating in 2007, and they wed in 2009. They currently live in Austin, Texas.

Andy began 2000 in style, becoming the first American since Butch Buchholz in 1959 to win the Australian Open Junior Championship. The victory convinced the teenager to turn pro, and earned him his first major endorsement deal, with SFX Sports Group, one of the world’s most influential sporting event promoters.

Andy made the leap in February, recording his official debut at the Citrix Championships in Delray Beach, Florida. For many 17-year-olds, the decision to go pro is a difficult one. In Andy’s case, it was a no-brainer. He already had one of the hardest serves in tennis, and the rest of his game flowed from there, including a top-notch forehand and volleying skills. To have a real chance at winning, however, he would have to steady his backhand and locate his second serve deeper in the box.
Andy’s first big event as a a pro was the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne. He survived his first-round match against Fernando Vicente before encountering the tournament’s top seed: Agassi. The Saturday night match drew more than 12,000 fans, including many of Andy’s tennis friends and family members. Despite their support of the underdog, Agassi won easily, 6-2, 6-3. Though Andy gave his idol all he could handle with his serve and forehand, his backhand still lacked consistency, which ultimately cost him the match. Agassi, who ran Andy mercilessly from side to side, had nothing but good things to say afterward, predicting the teenager would soon join him at the top of the ATP rankings. Andy responded in kind, telling his hero what an honor it was to play him.

Andy played in seven more ATP events in '00 and finished the year ranked #160 on the men’s tour. He posted wins over Karol Kucera, Vicente and Fabrice Santoro—not exactly household names, but guys who typically eat teenagers for lunch. At the Legg-Mason in Washington D.C., Andy upset Adrian Voinea, Santoro and Kucera to reach the quarterfinals. There he met Agassi again. In a rain-interrupted match, he fell 6-4, 6-4.

Andy also competed in Junior tournaments right until his 18th birthday in August, winning the U.S. Open Juniors and the Sugar Bowl Classic. He injured his knee at the French Open Juniors, causing him to miss the Wimbledon Juniors, but he did well enough at this level—37-5—to finish as the world’s top-ranked Junior for 2000.

Andy also entered the main draw of the U.S. Open, where he lost to Albert Costa in the first round. He finished off the year by playing in the Sunshine Cup for the U.S. No snub this time around=, he led the team to a rare victory.

Prior to Roland Garros, in April, Andy went to Atlanta and won the Verizon Tennis Challenge, defeating Xavier Malisse in the final. It marked the first time in a decade that an American teenager captured a men’s tour event. Andy proved this win was no fluke when he took the U.S. Men’s Clay Court title in Houston a week later, blowing Lee Hyung-Taik off the court. In less than two months, his ranking had soared more than 100 places to #21.

In Paris, Andy faced former French Open champ Michael Chang in the opening round. The wily veteran ran him ragged, and by the fifth set of their grueling marathon, Andy was fighting through cramps. In a scene reminiscent of Chang’s performance against Ivan Lendl on his way to winning the 1989 tournament, Benhabiles motioned from the stands for Andy to retire, but he waved off his coach and took the fifth set 7-5 to advance.

Andy showed a flair for working the crowd during this match and tore off his shirt after the final point. But when he recovered quickly enough from his cramps to appear at a dance club that evening, some doubted how much pain he had really been in.

Two rounds later, Andy tweaked his hamstring against Hewitt. This time he could not overcome the discomfort and had to pull out of the match. It was beginning to dawn on Andy that the physical demands of his sport were a bit greater than he had realized. He also had to work harder on the last weakness in his game, his backhand. It was shaky in Paris, and Chang and Hewitt had gone to town on him because of it.

One thing Andy did not have to worry about anymore was his second serve. Now a valuable weapon, it was coming in deep, with good pace and a devilish spin that caused it to explode upward, sometimes above the receiver‘s head. Andy was also developing a swagger that suggested to some that he was getting close to becoming a consistent championship contender.

Andy continued to lengthen his resume with impressive performances in 2002. He won at Memphis, defeating fellow American James Blake in the final. Next he defended his '01 win in Houston. This time he faced Sampras in the final and beat him soundly. Sampras later returned the favor at the U.S. Open on his way to the championship. Andy also reached the quarters at Wimbledon and helped the U.S. advance to the semifinals of the Davis Cup, though he proceeded to drop his two singles matches against France. At season’s end, Andy was the proud owner of the #10 ranking.

Andy started the 2003 season with an encouraging performance at the Australian Open. Down two sets to Mikhail Youzhny, he rallied to win and earn a quarterfinal berth. He eventually made it to the semis, where he lost to Rainer Schuettler. Andy was getting so close to a Grand Slam title he could almost taste it.

Though he played well as winter turned to spring, Andy felt his game was lagging behind where it should be. In June, after an embarrassing loss to Sargis Sargisian in the first round of the French Open, he made a coaching switch and began to work with Brad Gilbert, Agassi’s one-time guru.

Gilbert, who mastered the art of “winning ugly” during his playing days, instilled in Andy an appreciation for finding imaginative ways to turn matches around when things were not going well. This quality, which kept players like Agassi and Sampras atop the rankings for so long, was the final piece of the puzzle. Andy’s first outing under Gilbert’s tutelage, the grasscourt event at Queen’s Club, resulted in a championship.

Andy was constructing points better and keeping his cool when things did not go his way. Instead of bulling his way through tough times, he began using his head. After advancing to the semis at Wimbledon, he won hardcourt titles in Indianapolis, Toronto, and Cincinnati.

Andy’s love life was looking good, too. He had struck up a relationship with recording artist Mandy Moore, and things were going well. All that remained was that elusive first Grand Slam victory.

The field heading into the 2003 U.S. Open featured many contenders but no clear-cut favorite. Agassi, now 33, was the sentimental choice. He would have to overcome Wimbledon winner Federer and the '01 champion Hewitt, who seemed due for a major win. The dark horse was Thai star Paradorn Srichaphan, who had opened a lot of eyes at the All England Club two months earlier. Then there was Andy.

Dodging the raindrops, he beat Tim Henman, Ivan Ljubicic, Flavio Saretta, Xavier Malisse and Sjeng Schalken without losing a set. Andy also showed he could handle the New York press after Ljubicic ripped him for playing to the crowd. The Croat star claimed the other players were tiring of his antics. The old Andy might have popped off, but he did and said all the right things.

   
 
Meanwhile, as the tournament neared its conclusion, the most American of tennis events was looking decidedly un-American. The Williams sisters had pulled out beforehand, Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport were gone, and Agassi was out of the running. After celebrating his 21st birthday, Andy was the only player left representing the stars and stripes.

Andy won the 32nd and final men's singles title of his career at the Atlanta Open, defeating Isner in the semis and recovering from a 6–1 first-set loss to beat Billes Muller in the finals.

When Andy Roddick burst onto the tennis scene, he carried the impossible burden of carrying the torch forward for one of America's greatest generation of stars. For a time, it looked like he would rule the game. But with the ascent of Federer, Nadal and later Novak Djokivic, his path to Grand Slam immortality proved more difficult than anyone imagined. Even so, Andy leaves the game as one of the most engaging and dynamic personalities in history, not to mention a slam-dunk Hall of Famer.

Andy has the total package. He is big and strong, moves around the court well, and uses his head to stay calm when the pressure is on. Andy’s serve is the most feared in tennis. When it tops out in the low 140s it is almost unreturnable. His second serve is no picnic either.

Andy’s forehand is above average, while his backhand is superb when it’s working and less than superb when it’s not. When Andy has all his weapons working he gets into an awesome rhythm. The challenge is to maintain that level of play for an entire tournament.

The X-factor for Andy is his enormous crowd appeal. Clearly, he feeds off the energy his presence creates. And although many opponents resent him for the connection he makes with fans, it is hard to imagine they need a special incentive to beat him. When you are going up against the guy who’s sitting atop the mountain, you’d better bring your A-game, and then some.