Andy Roddick Deserves to Be in the Hall of Fame: An Argument Why

Andy Roddick was destroyed by Rafael Nadal in his quarterfinal match yesterday. He approached incessantly to no avail, as Nadal fired passing shot after passing shot with laser-like precision past him, and his serve was effectively neutralized. He hardly looked like a hall of fame candidate.

One match, though, does not define careers, and Andy Roddick has had an excellent history as America’s top tennis player.

Roddick quickly established himself as the next American hope in 2003, with a deep run in the Australian Open, making the semifinals at Wimbledon only to lose to the eventual champion, and winning his first Grand Slam title at the US Open. He finished the year as the world number 1, the youngest American to do so.

But the following years did not yield the same level of dominance for Andy. Djokovic has Nadal, Nadal has Federer, and Federer has always had Andy Roddick. Aside from his lone grand slam title at the US Open in 2003, every deep run that Roddick has made in a tournament has ended at Federer’s hands.

At Wimbledon in 2004, he took the first set and had numerous chances in the second to take a two sets to none lead, but failed to convert and watched the match slip away. History inevitably repeated itself, as the final in 2009 was nearly indistinguishable, seeing Roddick have similar opportunities that Federer deftly eliminated. The US Open in 2006 saw Roddick manage two competitive sets and take one, but the other two were all too easy for the maestro and Andy had to settle for runner up once more.

Roddick is not among the greatest Grand Slam champions: there is little debate about that. His accomplishments have come in different arenas.

In 2007 he led the US to its first Davis Cup victory since 1995. He went 6-0 in Davis Cup play and was the first player to lead his team to victory undefeated since Sampras. He has been in the top ten for the last ten years, and demonstrated a willingness to entirely change his game once his old strategies were no longer effective.

Even more than that, though, Roddick has been the face of American tennis in a decade that has seen interest in the sport increasingly diminished. He has played in a golden era of tennis, with two all-time champions competing in the same era, and represented his country as a consistent contender to the throne against the endless supply of Europeans inundating the majors.

Roddick has not been a perfect champion and his admittance into the hall of fame is far from guaranteed, but tennis in America in the past ten years has not been perfect either, and Roddick has done everything in his power to keep the face and prestige of American tennis alive. He may not be Nadal or Federer, but few players are, and I believe that he deserves his place in the hall among other great names in the sport.