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Rising star Roddick may be the next great American player
Updated: Wednesday March 21, 2001 8:55 PM
KEY BISCAYNE, Florida (AP) -- The best American hope for the next generation of men's tennis is not yet a familiar face, even on his home turf in South Florida. The latest reminder for Andy Roddick came at a recent juniors tournament on Key Biscayne. "Are you one of the ball boys?" a volunteer worker asked. "They always ask me that at tournaments," Roddick says with a shrug and a smile. "I guess I look like I'm 12." He's actually 18 and hits tennis balls like few adults can, which is why there may soon be another A-Rod making sports-page headlines. Roddick, the world's No. 1 junior player in 2000, turned professional last year and has already reached No. 119 in the ATP rankings. He'll try to continue his climb at the Ericsson Open, which begins Wednesday. "Andy has a great game," says Andre Agassi, an occasional hitting partner. "He has a serve that's big, a good second serve and a big forehand, he moves pretty well, and it seems like he has a hunger for the game. All those things lend themselves to a good future." The best of the future and present collide at the Ericsson, with the 79 highest-ranked men entered. That includes Agassi and Pete Sampras, each a three-time champion, in opposite halves of the draw. Almost as strong is the women's field, which includes Venus and Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport and defending champion Martina Hingis. But Anna Kournikova, Mary Pierce and Monica Seles will be absent because of injuries, and there's uncertainty about the health of Venus Williams. Citing knee tendinitis, Williams pulled out at Indian Wells last week shortly before the scheduled semifinal match against her sister, prompting jeers from fans who suspected she was ducking a sibling showdown. Williams' right knee may feel better when she sees the Ericsson draw, because she won't have to face Serena until the final. Seeded players have a first-round bye and take the court beginning Friday. Two years ago, Roddick watched the tournament as a fan in the upper deck. Last year, still in high school, he lost to Agassi on stadium court in the second round. This week he'll play Harel Levy in the first round, with 1998 champion Marcelo Rios to meet the winner, and Sampras a likely third-round opponent. Lanky of build and loose as his baggy T-shirts, Roddick enters the tournament with a 2-3 record this year, not including a title in Hawaii in January on the tour's minor-league circuit. In recognition of his progress and potential, U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe selected Roddick for the team that lost at Switzerland in February. "I've been improving a level every three or four months," Roddick says. "If I keep doing that, things will start happening." Roddick is an Omaha, Nebraska native whose family has lived in Boca Raton since he was 10. He followed his older brother into tennis and rose rapidly through the junior ranks. In 2000 he won junior Grand Slam titles at the Australian and U.S. Open. The last American to win the Australian junior championship was the 1959 titlist, Butch Buchholz, now Ericsson Open tournament chairman. "Andy clearly has weapons," Buchholz says. "He has learned how to win, and that should translate as he moves up the ladder. Everybody recognizes that while Pete and Andre's best days aren't behind them, there aren't many of them left. This is the new generation." There has been a lot of hand-wringing in American tennis about the absence of an heir apparent to Sampras, Agassi, Jim Courier and Michael Chang, who have combined to win 25 Grand Slam titles. "Being from this country, the media and the public want their players No. 1, No. 2, winning Slams," Sampras says. "We're almost a little bit spoiled in that way." Roddick agrees. He notes that two other American teens -- Taylor Dent and Mardy Fish -- are ranked in the top 200, and says U.S. fans need to be patient and realistic regarding the future. "It's tough for 18-year-olds to break through right away, and that's what Americans have come to expect," he says. "We have a good 10-year block ahead of us. There should be some exciting things happening. But it would be tough for anybody to live up to Sampras and Agassi. They're arguably the two best players of all time." In other words, Roddick feels no pressure to become a worthy successor. "The people who are 24 or 25 have a lot more pressure than I do," he says. "They don't want to lose to an 18-year-old kid. I'm just going to keep firing." His comments reflect an impressive maturity, but when a friend enters the room during the same interview, Roddick breaks into barnyard noises. The transition from adolescence to adulthood can be fitful, even for a youngster with a 130 mph serve.
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