Andy Roddick: A Unique Love and Hate Relationship

One can never answer the question ‘what does Andy Roddick provide to the tennis world?’ with a definite answer. He’s audacious just as he is a loud-mouth with a flair for straight-shooting. He doesn’t mind the establishment just as he doesn’t hesitate to talk against it, if and when the situation demands. He’s a people’s person just as he is a thorough professional slogging it out on the court. One person, different dimensions – that’s a peculiarity which will always be associated with the American.

As unique as Andy Roddick is, it definitely hasn’t been an easy road trip to break into the frontlines and go toe-to-toe with some of the best guys, all the while retaining that individuality. In the tennis spectrum, holding on to one’s individuality is not something that many achieve, as the unpredictability of the sport makes it difficult to hold on to a particular set of values and continue with it right till the very end. Attitudes mellow down and change, perceptions start to differ but most importantly, there are times when self-doubt starts to creep in.

And Andy Roddick has been no stranger to the element of self-doubt. It has plagued and dogged him in the past, to the point of pushing him to the very end of his tether. But the fact that Roddick completely changed it all – and changed it on his terms – is testimony to his fortitude and gumption.

It’s an enlightening experience to watch Roddick on the tennis court. There’s a buzz that surrounds him – a palpable force of electricity, that leaves the viewers with a sense of wariness, excitement and unexpectedness. Like someone with numerous avatars, Roddick’s persona changes each day, with every match that he plays. Many times, it’s this persona that reflects Roddick’s game-play, often deciding the result in the most brutal of manners against him. Perhaps this is why, unlike many of his peers, Roddick has had more off-days than rock-solid match-winning ones, and has been statistically more vulnerable to upsets as compared to other players of his era.

But irrespective of the statistical gaps or enriched tallies of records and silverware, Roddick’s talent and panache on the court are fierce. He’s not perfect and nor has he ever claimed to be, but these minor, yet no-less-important, facts do not prevent him being acknowledged as a worthy successor to the once-held American stronghold of tennis. In spite of his one-dimensional game and his inability to play on certain surfaces, Roddick will forever be a Grand Slam winner, anointed as the world’s best tennis player. No one can take this from him, just as no one can forget his heroics at the 2009 Wimbledon final.

In the 2009 season where unprecedented events had become the norm, Roddick’s third appearance in a final – at Wimbledon – became a raging topic of discussion. A perfect dark horse, by the time he reached the finals after consecutive mammoth battles in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, even sceptics had begun to speculate about his chances of winning. But where he had held his nerve and ground on two different occasions, his failure and inability to hold on to it for just a while longer became too heavy a price to pay.

History recounts the match to be a typical case of ‘what if?’, because the questions still loom. With a body language that projected absolute disillusionment, Roddick’s downward spiral following that epic match has been extremely disappointing. Non-performance because of injuries and illnesses set him back, leading him to lose ranking points and consequentially his spot in the top 20. The Roddick of today definitely isn’t the same guy who he was a few years ago. And it is this Roddick who is biding his time to end his tennis show for the final time, as he soldiers his way on to the third round at his final Slam, playing each round as though it were his last. And it wouldn’t be wrong of his fans to hope for Roddick to resurge again, at a place where it all began almost a decade ago. The full completion of a cycle.