US Open Tennis: Fallen American Star Andy Roddick Will Never Escape Mediocrity

Andy Roddick has taken a spill down the ATP rankings. His early results at the 2011 US Open justify this slide and point to the fact that it isn't going to stop.

It took Roddick four sets to dispatch the lightly-regarded Michael Russell, 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

Roddick's struggles are certainly understandable. He has plodded through an injury-plagued season. Roddick is currently injury-free, but his body has yet to recover, and therein lies the big problem.

It also tells me that this is as good as it is going to get for the rest of his career.  

His injuries and worn-down body are certainly understandable. Over the past ten years, only Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt have played more matches.

Roddick recently spoke about this and the problems his injuries have created, saying, "I'm sure playing a thousand matches probably has something to do with it. You know, I've always trained hard.

"I've gotten hurt a couple times in training this year, which is tough because if you come back, you're out of shape and you don't feel like you're where you need to be [but] if you push too hard in training, you get hurt.

Its a tough thing for me because I've made a career off of, you know, out-training a lot of guys and outworking a lot of guys."

There is little Roddick can do about this. If he trains too hard, he is susceptible to injury, but if he doesn't train hard enough, he can't perform at his highest level.

While he will have the offseason to get healthy, it is hard to imagine that health lasting, if he pushes himself as hard as he needs to be great once again. Roddick is caught in the irreversible trap of time, and he is simply not great enough to win tournaments without his peak athleticism. 

That will make for a quiet end to a good career, but a career that most will feel never reached its potential.