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Junior achievement Teen star Roddick the sole American left at French Open
Posted: Tuesday June 06, 2000 12:00 AM
PARIS (AP) -- Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi are long gone, but Andy Roddick is still trying to do his bit for his country and for himself at the French Open. The world's top-ranked junior has won his first two matches in the boys' singles to advance to the round of 16, and he plans to keep on going. The 17-year-old is the first American to be ranked No. 1 in boys' juniors since 1992. "Whenever I go to a tournament, I go to win," said Roddick, who beat No. 15 Michal Kokta of the Czech Republic in the second round Monday. "You can't go in with the mind-set that you are just going to win a few matches." Roddick, who was born in Nebraska and lives in Florida, said being the last American hope at Roland Garros is no burden. "Juniors and pros are two very different things. I'm not worried that Agassi and Sampras lost," he said. "They are two of the greatest players ever. I don't feel any extra pressure because of that." Roddick made his pro debut in February. In his first match at the Ericsson Open in March, he beat No. 41 Fernando Vicente from Spain. Then he faced Agassi. He lost the match but won some compliments. "I like his game," Agassi said. "I think it can really develop. He can generate a lot of pace on his serve, he has a big forehand." Roddick does not want to put his tennis career on a timetable. "You can't say, 'By 19 I'm going to be doing as well as Lleyton Hewitt.' All it takes is to get confident for two or three weeks and you can do well," he said. After winning the Orange Bowl at Key Biscayne in December, Roddick won his first junior Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. He was the first American to win the title since Butch Buchholz in 1959. Roddick started playing tennis at 7. His coach is former French player Tarik Benhabiles, who started training him last year. Fate helped bring them together. "It was a national tournament and I was really getting my butt kicked and it started raining. I sheltered under this canopy. He was there and my mom got talking to him," Roddick said. They lost touch but later found they were virtually next-door neighbors. Roddick's success has been a boost to the U.S. juniors' program, in decline since Agassi, Sampras, Jim Courier and Michael Chang began winning Grand Slams more than a decade ago. But Roddick's real dream is not a solo one. He wants to play on the U.S. Davis Cup team. "Individual competition is great but when you can do something for your country, it must feel much better," he said. He's already had a taste of this. He was Agassi's practice partner leading to the Davis Cup series with the Czech Republic. "The team unity was great. [Captain John] McEnroe treated me like one of the guys, not like a baby or a kid." Roddick has just finished his senior year in high school and handed in his last homework assignment two days ago. But he missed his graduation ceremony Sunday. "Obviously, this is worth it," he said. "I wish I could have been there with my friends. But I have a job to do."
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