American Men's Tennis: What One Word Best Describes Andy Roddick

If you had to describe Andy Roddick in one word, what would it be?

There are plenty that apply to him, but the one I would use to describe him is "resilient."

Tennis fans have enjoyed watching him on the tennis court, with his huge serve and fighter's mentality. His unwavering dedication to his craft and desire to squeeze every last bit of success out of his talents has always endeared him to his fan base. 

If there was one thing you knew about Roddick going into a match was that he was going to fight as hard as he possibly could until the last point. 

There are so many examples of Andy's unbelievable determination but the one that stands out most to me is from a match he lost. And no, it isn't the 2009 Wimbledon final, although that wouldn't be a bad match to pick to prove how resilient Roddick has been throughout his career.

The match that best illustrates Roddick's resiliency was his 2010 quarterfinal loss at the Australian Open to Marin Cilic.

In this match, Andy hurt his shoulder that led to the numbness of his racket hand. 

To make matters even worse he was being outplayed slightly by his younger opponent and was two sets down. 

It is completely feasible to believe that their are players that would have retired at that point in the match. Or at the very least other may have bowed out gracefully, knowing they have an legitimate excuse that was affecting their game.

Roddick, however, dug down and won the next two sets before succumbing to Cilic in the fifth set.

Andy has also been known to show no understanding for other players who may not have been as resilient.

This was certainly the case when he mocked Novak Djokovic at the 2008 US Open for complaining about injuries and other maladies that had forced him to retire from matches.

Unfortunately for Roddick, Djokovic knocked Andy out of tournament in the following round and is getting the last laugh as he dominates the tennis world today. 

Roddick has also had a tough time in his career with certain head to head matchups, most notably with Roger Federer. He has had the displeasure of meeting Federer in four Grand Slam finals—losing in all of them. 

The last was at Wimbledon in 2009. Roddick's record against Federer at the time?

A dismal 2-19. This also included losses at Wimbledon to Federer each year from 2003-2005, two of those being finals. 

Roddick displayed his resiliency by coming out and playing without fear or anxiety. 

It would have been easy for him to have allowed Federer to get inside his head. Instead, he took the first set and if he had put away a backhand volley he more than likely would have gone up two sets to none. 

As the history book tells us, Roddick ultimately did lose the match but he didn't go down quietly, losing 14-16 in the fifth and deciding set.

The loss was devastating for Roddick, but he stood up thanked the crowd for all their support and still managed to poke fun at Federer and his great success on the hallowed grass at Wimbledon. 

His resiliency is also present in the press room after his matches. He has never shied away from the pressure that was thrust upon him after his triumph at the 2003 US Open.

Roddick's strong results in the beginning of his career led many to label him as the America's next great tennis champion.

At his press conferences, his style is similar to that on the court—aggressive. He seems to have no qualms about letting a reporter know when they ask a question he deems to be stupid. 

Roddick will retire one day—probably sooner than later.

Up until that point though, fans of Roddick can be assured of one thing—he will fight till the bitter end each time he takes the court.