previous - next - Return to Articles - News main - Home Source: http://www.bostonherald.com/ 18-year-old being hailed as heir to Sampras, Agassi Scripps Howard Monday, July 23, 2001 There are many sides to Andy Roddick. Those who have known him since he was young and following brothers Lawrence and John around call him Little Roddick. Those who have become familiar with him more recently call him A-Rod. More to the point, however, many of those who have played against him, and lost to him, call him the future leader among America's professional tennis players. Phenomenon fits, too, because rookie Roddick, 18, has won two ATP Tour titles, compiled a 24-8 record and climbed to No. 25 in the champions race, less than 12 months after he became the first American in eight years to finish No. 1 in the world junior rankings. Roddick faces reigning U.S. Open champion Marat Safin in the first round of the Mercedes-Benz Cup that gets under way today at UCLA's Los Angeles Tennis Center. He says he has surpassed his goals for this season and has tried to take the hype in stride. ``I just don't really pay much attention to it,'' he said. ``If you make something a big deal, then it's a big deal. If you just kind of treat it laid-back, kind of go with the flow, it's not really too much.'' It is safe to say Roddick has been shrugging non-stop recently, because almost everyone is singing his praises. For example: U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe, who chose Roddick for the team that faces India in September: ``He is the thing that has been missing in U.S. tennis, a young guy who really looks like a top-five player. He has a lot of weapons - a great serve, a great second serve and a big forehand. He plays with passion and shows emotion.'' Andre Agassi, who has practiced with Roddick frequently: ``I think Andy has been our best hope for a while. I like his game. I like the way he handles himself and goes about his business.'' Pete Sampras, who lost to Roddick at the Ericsson Open this year: ``He's got a big game. He's got a big serve. The way he competes and the way he plays, he really is the future. He's the beginning of a new American breed.'' If all this is true and Roddick does turn out to be the heir apparent to Sampras and Agassi, American tennis got lucky. ``I wasn't one of those childhood prodigies raised to be a tennis star,'' Roddick said. His brother John was the one who seemed on his way to tennis stardom, until a back injury curtailed his career. Andy said he used to follow John around and finally started playing when he was 7 or 8. He said it wasn't until he was about 12 that he began to take the game a little seriously, though, and even then he was handicapped by his size. Only 5-foot-2 at 14, he grew almost a foot in the next two years, to his current 6-1 and 190 pounds. Then, in the summer of 1999, he began working with Tarik Benhabiles, a former touring pro from Algeria who lives near the Roddicks in Boca Raton, Fla. Roddick said when they got together, their goal was to finish No. 1 in the juniors in 2000. En route to achieving that, Roddick won both the Australian and U.S. Open Junior titles. But, he said, he ``never really thought about being a pro'' until about two months before it happened. When the decision was made, Benhabiles planned Roddick's schedule carefully. They passed up this year's Australian Open so Roddick could play, and win, a Challenger level tournament in Hawaii. Then they prepared for the French Open by staying home, and Roddick won back-to-back clay court events in Atlanta and Houston. The biggest thing Benhabiles did, however, was shorten Roddick's service motion. ``It was definitely a turning point,'' said Roddick, whose quick motion produces serves that consistently stop the clocks at 120 mph or better. ``I use kind of an unorthodox motion. (Since) the day I found it, it's been working well for me, so I guess it was a big day. ``I have more options, I think. I can take more chances on return games because I feel more comfortable serving.'' As for being the future of the game . . . ``I take it as a compliment,'' Roddick has said. ``It doesn't mean I'm going to be that. It doesn't mean I won't. People are going to say what they will whether I like it or not. I just try to roll with it. ``I said all along I'm not going to replace Sampras or Agassi. I'm going to try to do my own thing and hope that works out well.'' previous - next - Return to Articles - News main - Home |