Andy Roddick: 3 Reasons Roddick's French Open Absence Comes as No Surprise

Andy Roddick has pulled out of the French Open with a shoulder injury that has been nagging him leading up to the tournament.

The American has never fared well at the tournament, and it's another disappointment in a career that showed so much promise so many years ago. Before we look forward to the tournament, it's time to take a look back at Roddick and examine his absence.

The French Open and Roddick are synonymous with disappointment, and we're going to take a look at how we should have seen a setback coming.

As always, if you have any thoughts, make sure to leave them in the comments below along with who you think is going to win the men's draw at the French Open.

No. 1: Recent Withdrawal

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

ROME, ITALY - MAY 09: Andy Roddick of the USA plays a forehand during his first round match against Gilles Simon of France during day two of the Internazoinali BNL D'Italia at the Foro Italico Tennis Centre on May 9, 2011 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Clive

It's not like these shoulder troubles have come out of nowhere for Andy Roddick.

The American withdrew from the Nice Open with shoulder soreness and despite his best efforts to get ready for the French Open, it simply wasn't getting better and wasn't worth risking, especially with the force he puts on it during the course of a match.

If I'm Roddick, and my game is centered around a powerful serve, the last thing I want to do is put more strain on an already sore shoulder. It's always better to be safe instead of sorry, especially with the rest of the Grand Slam's coming up this summer.

No. 2: Recent Struggles

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

ROME, ITALY - MAY 09: Andy Roddick of the USA serves during his first round match against Gilles Simon of France during day two of the Internazoinali BNL D'Italia at the Foro Italico Tennis Centre on May 9, 2011 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Clive Brunskill

Before Andy Roddick decided to skip the French Open, he wasn't exactly playing his best tennis.

Prior to this, Roddick has lost four-straight matches dating all the way back to mid-March. If you're not playing your best tennis and your body doesn't feel right, you have no reason to be on the court making things worse physically and more importantly, mentally.

This is a player who has struggled on clay his entire career, and there was just no point in him continuing to make things worse for himself.

No. 3: French Open Setbacks

Julian Finney/Getty Images

PARIS - MAY 29: Andy Roddick of the United States shows his dejection during the men's singles third round match between Andy Roddick of the United States and Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia on day seven of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 29, 2010

The French Open has not been friendly to Andy Roddick.

It is the one major where he has not had any sort of success, failing to ever reach the quarterfinals and only reaching the fourth round once in 2009. If I'm Roddick, I would be looking for any excuse to get out of the event.

In the end, it's probably better for Roddick to rest his shoulder, get his mind right and attack Wimbledon instead of suffering through another miserable French Open.