Andy Roddick: Bashing Him Is Going Too Far

I am tired of seeing people bash Andy Roddick every single time an article on the Internet comes up about him. I don’t mean constructive criticism, but just derisive comments like, “Roddick sucks” or “Retire already!”

I understand the frustration up to a point but only up to a certain point. We haven’t had a great American player since Andre Agassi, and Roddick hasn’t won a grand slam since his first one in 2003.

However, there comes a point where the frustration is going a little too overboard and unnecessary. Look. I will be among the first to admit that the future is difficult for Roddick, in terms of being a multiple-time grand slam champion, and ever getting back to No. 1 again.

But many fans expect too much from Roddick, perhaps based on America's previous tennis tradition. And then they continuously put him down when he doesn’t meet those high expectations.

There’s only so much a person can do. Not everyone is blessed with a great talent and mind for the game. And other than his serve, there’s really not much else Roddick does better than anyone in the top 50.

And there’s only so much coaching you can do to improve everything about your game. Don’t you think that other players are being taught to do so by other coaches? Roddick is not the only one folks.

So I try to look at this in a more positive light. Roddick has made the most out of what relatively little talent he has. He did win one grand slam tournament, and made three other finals, having the bad luck of playing Roger Federer on those other three.

How many other players can say that they had to play Federer in three grand slam finals?

Very few.

And furthermore, how many players out there are far more talented and even at times more mentally tough than Roddick, who will never do what he did—win a major?

Current players such as Marin Cilic, Sam Querrey, Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils, and Ernests Gulbis are considered strong prospects.

Marat Safin, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Lleyton Hewitt are players who’ve won grand slam tournaments before, but just aren’t ever going to most likely do it again. They’ve faced criticism, but do they get bashed with derision as heavily as Roddick?

No, I don’t think so.
And all three of them have taken a significantly worse downward spiral than Roddick, and are ranked much lower than him now. Credit Roddick for being such a consistent top 10 performer for so many years.

So again folks, I really think that it’s not fair to bash Roddick like some of you do. Your expectations are way too high, causing a constant negative reaction to him every time he comes up short, as defined by you.

I won’t stop you from continuing to bash of course, though I think those of you that do are seriously lacking in perspective. Roddick has made the most of his ability, which is far less than a lot of other players out there who will never win a grand slam.