Players to bid at the 2012 US Open Championships: (Part 11) – Tennis Special
Andy Roddick – United States of America
Former world number one, Andy Roddick, is among the home favourites for winning the US Open title this season. Albeit the 29-year-old American veteran is not at his prime, the local crowd at the Flushing Meadows strongly desires
Roddick to lift that glorious US Open trophy another time.
Once the ruler of the sport, Roddick’s deteriorating age and form has virtually sidelined him from the winners’ circle. The American old horse has fallen into the Top-30s of the ATP World Rankings but his will to make a comeback
to the top still drives him to labour even hard. Roddick is among the best servers of the game and his aggressive game play is still far better than a lot of other players on the ATP Tour. However, his winning drought has drained a huge toll out of his form
and future prospects.
He was a top-tenner last year but then sunk to as low the world number 33 before he regrouped to hold the 21st spot. His sloppy form at the start of the season, coupled with niggling injuries, caused him to slip down
in the men’s rankings. After having a dreadful clay court season, Roddick finally showed some hints of his vintage form on the grassy surface. He won his first title of the season at Eastbourne and was expected to continue his winning impetus in the Wimbledon
Championships but he fell to the fifth seed David Ferrer in the third round. The American then stepped on the hard courts of Atlanta and bagged his second championship title of the season.
Roddick has 32 ATP titles in his bad, including five ATP Masters Series and a lone Grand Slam trophy. He won his only Major title at none other than the US Open way back in 2003. He outplayed the then world number three, Juan Carlos
Ferrero of Spain, in straight sets to lift his maiden Grand Slam title.
He had three more final appearances at the Wimbledon Championships but every time he was denied by the sheer class of the Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer, to finish on the losing side in the end. Roddick’s losses in three Grand Slam
finals had a huge impact on his career and he has never reached the title round since 2009. His present form also is not convincing to force us a thought that he might reach the final of the US Open Championships this season as well. However, he can be rated
as a strong contender for the quarter-final rounds, or perhaps the semis as well.
The American veteran finished in the second round of the Australian Open earlier this year, pulling out of the fourth set due to an injury. His Roland Garros Voyage was a complete failure, as he was outplayed by the then 89th
ranked Frenchman, Nicolas Mahut, in the opening round clash. Roddick had a tough draw at the Wimbledon Championships this summer and fell at the hands of David Ferrer in the third rounds.
Roddick is technically superior to a number of other players ranked above him and this can be the decisive factor in his attempt to claim glory at the US Open.
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