For Andy Roddick, Paris was Just Practice

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: May 29, 2010

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Andy Roddick entered last year’s Roland Garros having played only one clay court event, and that was on the fast courts of Madrid. Having gotten married during the clay season to Brooklyn Decker, Roddick arrived in Paris relaxed, fresh, and without terribly high expectations to disappoint.

He proceeded to have his most successful RG ever, winning three matches without dropping a set before falling to Gael Monfils in the round of 16. He then parlayed that momentum into a career-reviving Wimbledon run, beating Britain’s own Andy Murray to reach the finals.

There, he faced Roger Federer, the main impediment to his Wimbledon dreams, but came as close as anyone not named Rafa to stopping the Great Swiss on Centre Court.

With that precedent, it was no wonder that Roddick chose to play an abbreviated clay court season again, celebrating his wedding anniversary and resting from his successful spring hard court season, where he won his fifth Masters Shield in Miami.

This year, though, his clay court preparation would be even less extensive, as he skipped the no longer essential Monte Carlo, exercised his right to opt out of Rome, then was greeted with illness upon his arrival in Madrid, leaving him with zero matches played on the dirt before Paris.

After his third round exit today, we may consider it a strong effort that he got that far at all. He certainly had opportunities to leave earlier.

His first-round opponent, the Fin Jarkko Nieminen, is a very tough baseliner who has been ranked in the top 20 before having his results taper off in recent years.

In round one, though, Nieminen fought Roddick as if it were the middle of the decade all over again, outclassing him once the American’s big serve was in play and building a two-sets-to-one lead. 

Roddick had every opportunity to crumble, but did not, eventually sneaking away with two breaks in the final...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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