JOHNNY WATTERSONprofiles the American who faces a major task against Andy Murray in today's semi-final
THERE HASN’T been much ink spilled on paper about the chances of Andy Roddick reaching his third Wimbledon final. The American is finding it comfortable in the shadows and after his four-hour quarter-final match with Lleyton Hewitt he further added to the cacophony surrounding Andy Murray.
“He’s certainly kind of come in to his own as a player,” said Roddick.
Rare for the tour, the 26-year-old does a strong line in self-awareness, sarcasm and irony. He is unafraid to parade his intelligence at press conferences, usually with humour or withering sarcasm and when he makes declarations, he does so for a reason.
In an ongoing joke that is now wearing thin with him, he was asked on Wednesday who he thought Rick Astley (pop singer) would be rooting for.
“Hard core journalism,” he replied and turned away.
But Roddick knows that Murray leads him in head-to-heads and has won their last three meetings in Doha, Shanghai and Miami.
The Scottish player is also on a 10-match winning streak. Roddick feels that making the obvious observations on Murray is a more credible line for him to take than feigning nonchalance and pumping up his own game as many other players do.
“He doesn’t really have a lot of weaknesses, or any for that matter,” said Roddick.
“You know, there’s a certain comfort level where you go out there and it’s like second nature. I think he’s acquired that since last year here.”
Roddick’s inheritance, since Andre Agassi retired, has been to take on the role of the only real American hope in tournaments like these. Mardy Fish, who was at the same High School at the same time as Roddick, was lined up to help alleviate the pressure on but his game didn’t materialise into that of a potential Grand Slam winner.
The 2004 and 2005 runner-up is bidding to reach his third Wimbledon final, having lost to Roger Federer both times. His lone Grand Slam win came at the 2003 US Open when he defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final. In that respect, he is comprehensively ahead of Murray who has been in a final just once, at last year’s US Open, when he lost to Federer.
But Roddick understands how it works in London and on Centre Court. He knows the roof may close because rain is forecast today and he knows that Murray has played in the more humid conditions and he has not. He knows the fans will be rooting for his opponent.
He knows that he hit 43 aces against Hewitt and 139 in the tournament so far and has a first serve percentage of 72 per cent. Almost half of his serves in the competition have not been returned but the dog in the Australian still kept him in the match for five long sets and he knows Murray will be no different.
“You know, it’s not hard for me to hit aces or hit the serve hard,” he said. “Obviously from a return standpoint he’s gonna do that better than I am most times in a match. With my serve I can give myself a chance in any match. I’ve been in this situation many times.”
One of the most celebrated athletes in the US, Roddick has appeared on the cover of a host on non-sports magazines such as Vogue and Rolling Stone. He has earned over €9.9 million in prize money alone and tens of millions more off court. He is married to a former Sports Illustrated model Brooklyn Decker. His life is neatly circled and all he’s missing is another championship. He knows too that, at 26 years old, time is running out.
As he left the press conference following his win over Hewitt, he was cheekily asked how his maturity plays into high-pressure matches.
“I’ll let you know when I have some,” he shot back, the door closing behind him.
