Roddick and his race to fitness
Once again, World Number 11 Andy Roddick seems to be back where he was last year; in a race to finish the year at a relative high point through the season, rather than to finish as yet another player on the sidelines. Roddick sprained his thigh during the
Rakuten Japan Open Championships last week. Although he managed to pull through the Tokyo tournament with straight set wins in the first two rounds against Tatsumo Ito and Jeremy Chardy, the American tennis pro lost to fifth seed Gael Monfils of France in
a three set match, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-7 (6-8). The thigh sprain contributed somewhat to this loss.
However, Andy Roddick picked up the pieces of this disappointment and moved on to his next tournament, the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters. Roddick was seeded 10th and managed to defeat Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first round of the ATP Tour Event,
partly due to his opponent’s retirement at the second set, giving him a 6-3, 2-1 walkover. However, the tables were turned in his next match against Spaniard Guillermo Garcia Lopez, who was fresh off a victory against his compatriot, World Number 1 Rafael
“Rafa” Nadal, at the PTT Thailand Open.
Despite the thigh injury he had recently sustained, Roddick went ahead to participate in the tournament. He won the first set against Garcia Lopez, setting a healthy lead for himself with a 6-3 score in the opening. While it seemed like the American player
was going to win the match, he stretched too far during the fourth game of the second set to reach a drop shot from Garcia Lopez and aggravated his injury once again. After an intensive medical treatment session to alleviate the pain, Roddick returned to the
set, only to be downed by his opponent almost immediately with a 3-2 advantage. At this point, Roddick gave up the match and retired.
Since then, Andy Roddick has done the sensible thing and given his leg the proper exercises and treatment it requires. He has also had the time to practice for further matches at Basel, and hopefully beyond; but the irony of the situation is that his retirement
this year has taken place almost a year after he suffered the injury that would end his last season at the same event back in 2009.
However, the difference between this year and the previous one is that things seem more on the positive side for Roddick in 2010. He himself also feels as if he has a more decent chance of overcoming his setbacks this year. The 28 year old player has his
sights set on the ATP Matches at Basel, and feels like he still has a reasonable shot at earning himself a niche in the showcase end of year championships, the selective ATP World Tour Championships.
If Andy Roddick manages to pull together his performance and match up to the expectations of the multiple supporters who are hoping for a quick recovery on his part, he may be able to up his points and finish off in the ATP Top Ten Players list for the ninth
consecutive year of his tennis career.
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