EXCLUSIVE
Andy Secure Within Himself

No. 6 Roddick set for NASDAQ-100 action

By Sandra Harwitt
tennisreporters.net

FROM THE NASDAQ-100 OPEN IN MIAMI – Starting his third full year playing on the tour, Andy Roddick insists he's definitely figured out the lay of the land. At 20-years-old, Roddick's worked out that it's most important to be "doing my own thing" – enjoy the highs, learn from the lows and ignore outside commentaries on where he should be at any given moment in his career.

Photos: Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA, Inc. Design: Ron Cioffi/tennisreporters.net

This week he is the No. 6 seed at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami, just a stones throw away from his home in Boca Raton. With family and friends converging on the tournament to watch their favorite player, Roddick will start his campaign for a first NASDAQ-100 Open trophy against Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia or a qualifier.

This is a definite sign of maturity for Roddick, who arrived in the big boy's league following an outstanding junior career that brought him ITF World Junior Champion honors in 2000 for winning the Australian and US Open junior titles. As is customary, from the minute that Roddick's potential as a future star was noted in his last year in the junior arena, he was weighted down with a heavy burden as the heir apparent to American men's tennis.

The strong desire to have someone follow in the footsteps of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi to wave the red, white and blue gained steam when Roddick scored three trophies – Atlanta, Houston and Washington – in his 2001 freshman year on tour. But when he only captured two titles in 2002 – Memphis and Houston – and still only had two quarterfinal showings at the Grand Slams at the 2001 and '02 US Open, the heavies who expected more were starting to grumble that Roddick wasn't heavy enough to be a champion.

DEALING WITH THE SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Many who face this demand crumble from the pressure, but Roddick seems to be handling the role admirably. Unlike many competitors, Roddick doesn't deny that there is such a thing as a sophomore slump and even admits he experienced the condition to a certain extent last year.

"I can definitely see where that comes from ¨ the idea of a sophomore slump," Roddick told tennisreporters.net. "I think your rookie year when everything is happening so fast, there's nothing to lose. Like I said before, it was all roses ¨ a big love fest between me getting known, tournament, fans, whatnot, then the second year comes and you start thinking you've been in the same place twice. I feel I definitely learned more last year than fresh out of the gate."

One area that Roddick believes he's improved is on the court. According to the No. 6 player in the world, it's taken some time to get past the common pitfall befalling those with big powerful games – always going for broke. But time, experience and valuable work with long time coach, Tarik Benhabiles, has delivered him to the understanding that a winning game is a versatile game.

"A lot of it was for two years I'd just go for a spectacular match and if it didn't work out, then I'd lose," Roddick said, honestly. "Last year I didn't play a lot of great tennis but I fought harder. Hopefully, this year will be a mix of both. Last year, I won a lot of matches that I probably shouldn't have, but that was my fighting. If I can get those two together that would be great."

Roddick recently put his talent together to make the next step in his career by reaching his first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open in January. The fact that Roddick, nursing right wrist tendonitis, lost a four-setter to German Rainer Schuettler in that semifinal became irrelevant since the defeat was overshadowed by the historic five-set thriller he produced with Moroccan Younes El Aynaoui in the quarterfinals.

A FIVE-SETTER FOR FOREVER
"I think we both played like champions that night," Roddick said. "If you look at the stats for the match it was ridiculous – I mean I've had more errors in two-set matches than in that five-set match. I think Younes played well as well. I don't think it was just the drama and the length of the match, but I think it was the quality of it, too, that makes it a great one."

No one was more amazed than Roddick to hear that during a time when a sports crazed American public would normally be eating and breathing Super Bowl, the Roddick-El Aynaoui match was headline news on all the news. But while it is true that tennis usually takes a back seat to other sports in the US, sports fanatics are willing to appreciate a tour de force performance and that sums up this special match that went to 21-19 in the fifth-set and spanned four hours, 59 minutes.

Roddick is of the opinion that it is too early to really tell how that match will affect his career in the future, although he did say that if Younes and he run into each other in 10 years they'll still know they were part of a very special moment in the game. In the short term, Roddick believes the match provided self-assurance when he returned to the court after his wrist injury healed, enabling him to journey to the Memphis final where he lost to Taylor Dent.

"I think only time will tell [it's full effect on my career]," Roddick said. "It gives me confidence knowing I went into Memphis, not having played many matches – not having played a whole of tennis at all – and I was still really confident for some reason. I'm not really sure why and I knew I wasn't playing great but I knew I could still get through some matches. And I don’t know if I would have thought that a year ago."

One thing that has never been in question is that Roddick is serious about success in his profession and gives all aspects of the game his attention. When he needed therapy on his wrist after the Australian Open, he never missed a session with ATP Trainer Bill Norris, who lives nearby Roddick in Boca Raton.

"He came over to my house everyday for treatment," Norris said. "Sherie's (Norris' wife) made him dinner – she cooks for him when he comes over."

Norris clearly respects the 20-year-old Roddick and how he goes about handling life as a instant tennis celebrity. The longtime tour trainer laughs when he says, "I've told Andy he's a great kid up until the time he changes," but Norris isn't expecting any personality changes from the grounded Roddick.
While it has come to be no secret that Roddick is somewhat injury prone, he does put a great deal of effort into his fitness these days, hoping to not only counteract getting injured but to be in better shape.

GETTING FITTER
"On the court, I'm working on coming in a lot more, but my fitness is up there because I can always get better," Roddick said. "That's one thing I realize that you have total control over – fitness. Even when you're not playing well you can be in shape. I kind of opened my eyes to that a little bit – it's just a mindset."

So serious about his career, Roddick admits he usually has to forego the usual travel experience – tourism. Nevertheless, he does make sure to take in the sites of his favorite European city, Rome, although Roddick admits he prefers US tournaments because they offer the most comfortable atmosphere.

Of sightseeing, Roddick said, "You don't have a lot of time after two practices a day and fitness you don't feel like getting out of bed and walking around. But I've definitely seen my share of things, but it's definitely not my priority when I'm on the road."

Roddick, who dates actress/singer Mandy Moore, has set a goal for the 2003 season – a goal he's already met if he keeps his No. 6 slot on the Champions Race that determines the players for the eight-man season-ending Tennis Masters Cup.

"My main goal that's in my mind is I want to be at the Masters – I think that's the best players of the year," Roddick said. "In order to be there, I'm going to have to put up results. Instead of thinking about individual results, I'm kind of looking at points and accumulating enough to be in Houston for the Masters."