Andy Roddick Wonders About His Future Health

Written by: Staff on 20th January 2012

Andy Roddick Wonders About His Future Health

Andy Roddick of the US in action during his second round match against Australia's Lleyton Hewitt at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 19 January 2012. EPA/JOE CASTRO AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Andy Roddick has ruled himself out of making a Davis Cup comeback for the United States against Switzerland next month and left a huge question mark over how much longer he will be fit enough to compete on the ATP World Tour.

The 29-year-old was forced to hobble out of his Australian Open second round match with fellow ex-world no.1 Lleyton Hewitt after three sets when a painful hamstring injury made it impossible to continue.

Now, more than eight years after sitting at the top of the ATP World Tour rankings, Roddick faces the prospect of slipping outside the top 20 and consequently struggling to be seeded for a Grand Slam event for the first time since 2001.

“I don’t think it’s coincidental that all of a sudden in the last year-and-a-half or two years that I’m getting hurt more and more,” claimed Roddick who was forced to shelve his plans to contest the Australian Open mixed doubles event with Serena Williams.

“It’s just frustrating because you can do all the right things and it might not matter. I got treatment pretty much every single day during the off season.”

“Your sensible mind says to have a sense of perspective. You still have it pretty good. The competitor in you feels terrible and wants to break stuff.

Although clearly impaired by the injury, Roddick played on for more than an hour in front of the capacity crowd at Rod Laver Arena. But in the end he decided it would be too risky to continue.

The last time Roddick was forced to retire from a major event was the 2006 French Open and the only Grand Slam events he has missed since 2002 were the two clay court majors in Paris of 2008 and last year.

“I can’t really complain because I had ten years pretty much of a clean slate and that’s a lot more than most people get,” said Roddick who will now face an uphill battle to be fit enough to defend the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, starting February 20. “The last two years has been pretty tough. It’s tough physically. It’s as tough mentally, though. It’s hard.”

Topics: Andy Roddick