Australian Open 2012 Draw: Why Andy Roddick Will Break American Hearts

Andy Roddick has a track record of breaking the hearts of American tennis fans, and this year's Australian Open will be no different.

As the most talented American player throughout most of the past decade, Roddick has been the hope that many Americans hang their hats on. 

He usually makes a decent run through tournaments, sometimes even reaching the semifinals or finals, only to let us down.

He didn't finish 2011 well; he just couldn't get over the hump the last few tournaments of the year, including the U.S. Open, the Masters 1000 of Shanghai, and the ATP 500 of Basel.

For the first time in more than nine years, Roddick ended the year ranked outside the top 10.

I envision a similar disappointing result in Melbourne.  Roddick's propensity to break our hearts is mostly due to him beating himself.

He's often plagued with unforced errors, inconsistent backhand strokes and an underwhelming ground game.  Self-inflicted wounds are not conducive to success against the world's best players.

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer don't need any help from their opponents, and when they get it, the match is all but over.

Roddick has reached the finals of Grand Slam events five times, and four of those times, Federer got the best of him.

The Australian Open in particular is an event where Roddick seems to make a nice run, then fall short and come up empty.  He's reached the semifinals four times (2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009).

So, four times Down Under he's come close, only to break the hearts and hopes of American tennis fans.

Considering Roddick's recent mediocrity, along with the level of competition ahead of him, it's safe to say that he's ultimately doomed to get knocked out in the quarterfinals or semifinals.

In fact, the way Mardy Fish and John Isner have been playing over the last year or so, Roddick might not even be the last American standing in Melbourne.

If he doesn't harness a high level of consistency these next couple of weeks, it will be another disappointing finish at the Australian Open for Roddick.