Andy Roddick Returns to Action – By Kristen Tracy

Written by: on 15th July 2013
US Open Tennis
Andy Roddick Returns to Action - By Kristen Tracy

epa03384977 Andy Roddick of the US hits a return to Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina during their fourth round match on the tenth day of the 2012 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 05 September 2012. The US Open runs through Sunday 09 September 2012. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO  |

It’s been a little less than a year since Andy Roddick retired from professional tennis, but he still remains a presence in the sport. This year, Andy joined the World Team Tennis league as a part owner and also as a member of the Springfield Lasers – and took on the Orange County Breakers last night in a thrilling night of fun-filled tennis. In a pre-match press conference, he talked about his life after retirement and his new gig with Fox Sports Live, the show that covers the day’s sports events and offers insight from analysts and athletes alike.

Let me first start by saying that I grew up knowing who Andy Roddick was. I began playing tennis about the time he turned pro so he was (and probably always will be) my version of American tennis. His surprise announcement to retire at last year’s U.S. Open threw me for a loop. I knew he didn’t have much longer, but I was expecting at least another year or two. I just wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet.

So when the opportunity came up for me to see Andy for the first time in over a year (and the first since his retirement), I wasn’t about to turn it down. But walking into the Bren Events Center at the University of California Irvine, I felt something I never thought I’d feel – old. Yes, you heard me correctly. At only 26 (ok, 25 for another two months) I felt old. The place was filled with young kids – which, of course, was a welcomed sight. But when conversations of Andy Roddick began amongst parents, aunts and uncles, babysitters, etc., many of the children responded with “Who’s Andy Roddick?” And my heart began to break. It had never occurred to me that at some point, the players I grew up with would one day be nothing more than the equivalent of what Arthur Ashe or Jimmy Connors is to me – someone whose name you hear occasionally amongst the tennis-themed conversation. Don’t get me wrong. I admire both Jimmy and Arthur, but I didn’t grow up with them. I don’t know firsthand what it felt like to witness Jimmy’s amazing run to the 1991 U.S. Open semifinals, or to watch Arthur Ashe not only change the face of tennis, but the world as well. And that same feeling is what many young kids who are just now coming into the game feel about Andy Roddick and will one day feel about Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray. They may still be around now but they won’t last long and they will all eventually become a glorified afterthought in the game of tennis.
It was the first time I can remember being in a venue where Andy Roddick wasn’t the favorite. His name didn’t elicit the roaring applause I was used to. The encouragement from the stands didn’t come nearly enough, and at times the crowd was actually rooting against him. I was in completely new territory and didn’t have the slightest idea how to react. Steve Johnson, USC alum and clear crowd favorite was the Andy Roddick of the night. The real Roddick might as well have been any other team tennis player, because there were few who cared if he won. And it was that lack of crowd support (which I’m sure he wasn’t all that used to) that caused him to lose to Johnson – despite the still monstrous serve and killer forehand. I was speechless. A clearly frustrated Andy smashed his racket and left the court shortly after the conclusion of the match, which oddly enough was just what I wanted to see. Very few could smash a racket like he could.
And who knows when I’ll get to see that again.

 
Here is the video link: http://youtu.be/OEloABRu7H4


Follow Kristen on Twitter! @KristensKourt  and @10sBalls_com

Topics: , , , , , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.