Andy Roddick

The 2003 US Open Champion is America's best prospect at the 2008 US Open Tennis championships. As one of the best players in world tennis and a consistent performer on hard court surfaces Roddick is under tremendous public pressure to win another grand slam in the wake of a string of ATP tour successes.

Player Biography

Unlike many top men's singles players, Andy Roddick made no major breakthroughs in his junior tennis career. Born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1982, Roddick grew up in Austin, Texas moved to Boca Raton in Florida at the age of 11 to train.

Career

Andy Roddick launched his career in the professional tennis circuit at the age of 17. He made a sparkling debut by claiming three ATP titles in his first full year of competition in 2001, winning two tournaments on clay and one on hard court.

Grand Slam Record

Andy Roddick had already racked up an impressive tally of 10 ATP titles before taking to the courts at Flushing Meadows for the 2003 US Open tennis championships. Roddick sparkled in the semi-finals and finals to win the tournament and catapult himself into first place in the rankings. Aged 21 at the time, he became the youngest player to hold the ATP top spot since the ranking system was adopted in 1973.

While Andy Roddick has been a consistent tournament winner in the ATP and a constant presence in the ATP top ten, he has failed to build on his debut grand slam win in 2003. His record at Wimbledon has been impressive, with Roddick reaching two successive finals in 2004 and 2005 before falling to Roger Federer on both occasions.

In 2006 Andy Roddick put in another fine performance at the US Open and built public expectation to fever pitch as he made his way into the final for the first time since 2003. Unfortunately Roddick ran into a rampant Roger Federer in the final, and the Swiss went on to deny Roddick the a grand slam title for the third year in succession.

Playing Style

Andy Roddick possesses the most powerful serve in tennis, regularly clocking first-serve speeds in excess of 150mph. His brutal serve is backed up by one of the strongest forehands in the game. However his greatest strength is also seen as a handicap, as it is claimed his power shots come at the expense shot diversity.