Roddick Ousted in Third Round at Wimbledon

June 24, 2011 | By David Drucker
Roddick_Loss

If there were one player on the pro tour who cannot catch a break in life, that player would be Andy Roddick, no questions asked. In yet another Grand Slam disappointment, Roddick was upset by unseeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain in straight sets, 7-6(2), 7-6(2), 6-4. What’s even more embarrassing is that in the seven meetings Roddick and Lopez have had in their career, Roddick has won all seven of them, including just recently in London on the grass court tune-up tournament. Last year, Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei upset Roddick in the fourth round, which was even more shocking. At least we know Lopez is a dangerous lefty with a huge serve, but that still is no excuse for Roddick who has simply dominated the Spaniard in his career.

In his 11 Wimbledon appearances, Roddick has made the finals three times, losing each one to Switzerland’s Roger Federer, and even the 2006 U.S. Open, he lost in the finals to Roger Federer. In recent times, it hasn’t been Federer denying Roddick his glory, it’s been Roddick denying himself his glory with these early upsets in majors.

For me personally, I haven’t rooted for Roddick since 2004. I rooted for him in 2003 when he won his lone Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open. Since then, he’s been a letdown to his country, not being able to deliver since 2003. With a country behind you and not being able to come through at least once out of four opportunities that he’s had since 2003 is unacceptable, even if they were all against Federer.

Roddick has personally stated that he will retire when he thinks he cannot hang with the top talent any longer. He’s been adamant about not being one of those players hanging around in the top 50-100 in the rankings, just looking to collect a paycheck. In my opinion, I think it’s time for Roddick to hang it up, perhaps after this upcoming U.S. Open. Reason being is exactly what Roddick said … he cannot hang with the top players anymore. He’s currently not even in the same league as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. Yes, he does have wins over these players in his career, but that’s all over and done with from here on out. Those are the four players you eventually have to go through in order to win a Grand Slam in today’s game, and for Roddick, that just isn’t going to happen.

Had Roddick won his third round match, he would have possibly met France’s Gael Monfils, should the Frenchman come through in his match today, which he should. I personally had Roddick losing to Monfils anyway, since Monfils has dominated their recent meetings. Some fans had Roddick going to the quarters vs. Andy Murray, and some even had Roddick beating Murray to play Rafael Nadal. This of course is all irrelevant now being that Roddick has been eliminated.

Still left to play on day five at the All England Club is world number one Rafael Nadal, Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro, France’s Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet, Andy Murray of Great Britain, Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic and Mardy Fish of the United States. Play was halted late in the days as a light rain that has plagued the event all week began to fall.

All are favored and expected to come through in their matches, but keep an eye out for a possible upset in the del Potro/Simon match, as well as Monfils/Kubot match. Gilles Simon of France is a dangerous player for del Potro to go toe to toe with. Lukasz Kubot of Poland is nowhere near as talented as Gael Monfils but the Frenchman could self-destruct if his game deserts him.


David Drucker
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