A Tip of the Cap to Andy Roddick
3 comments so far
July 5, 2009 by
Ninety-nine percent or so of what we write on the Big Red Network pertains to Husker football. While this goes a bit off the path, tennis star Andy Roddick was born in Omaha and he is a self-proclaimed Husker fan. Today he did the Husker Nation proud by going toe-to-toe with the greatest player in the game at Wimbledon and probably even outplaying him despite the outcome (he lost after a 30-game fifth set, where ten-games is more often the norm). In many ways, it’s reminiscient of NU’s loss to Florida State in the 1994 Orange Bowl. He came in a big underdog but nearly shocked the world with a gutty performance.
Unlike Tom Osborne in 1994, Roddick shouldn’t be forced to wear the label that he can’t win the big one. He did win the 2003 US Open and finished that year as the top ranked player in the game. But he certainly had his doubters and those dismissing him, especially with his 2-18 (now 2-19) head to head record against Roger Federer. He’ll join Federer as the only two players to have finished in the ATP top ten each of the past eight years.
For those who don’t follow tennis, Roddick's been the best American player since Pete Sampras retired. He has the biggest serve the game has ever seen, but until recently didn’t have much to complement that. But that never keeps him from fighting his way through tough matches. As Roddick put it after reaching his third Wimbledon final, “Throughout my career I’ve had a lot of shortcomings, but trying hard isn’t one of them”.
It’s hard to feel too bad for a guy who makes millions and is married to a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. But you could see how disappointed he was to come up short after such a great effort in a final that lasted over four hours. We’ve wondered whether Roddick occasionally stops by the Big Red Network. If so we’d like to offer what little comfort we can. Andy, I know this hurts, but at least you don’t live in Cleveland or Detroit, behold:
Did you enjoy this article?
Get Husker news by email
Follow us on Twitter
Related Stories: People
Post a comment
darren Jul 05 09
Roddick's only real sin is playing during the "age of Federer". With his serve, Roddick could easily have been the Boris Becker of this generation. Alas, Federer's total awesomeness.
Matt Jul 06 09
Agreed, Darren.
That was an incredible match he played Sunday, though, and it's easily one of the Top 5 Wimbledon matches ever played...and arguably one of the Top 2.
Andy played his arse off and I bet we'll see him back again in the finals next year--his defense has been getting better (despite the horrible number of aces he gave up) and his serve has yet to dissipate.
And am I the only person that thinks Federer comes off as a complete jerk? There's just something phony about him IMO...
Joel Schmidt Jul 06 09
I was screaming at the TV with most of the points in that 5th set. Ever since I heard that he was from Omaha and cheered on the Huskers I was a huge fan of him. Andy was consistently making more clutch shots with no fear on Sunday, and that was incredible to watch.
Matt, the more stuff of yours that I read, the more I like the way you think. Federer annoys the heck out of me. I can't quite pin down if it's the commercials he has for his PRIVATE JET COMPANY during the tournaments, or his personal line of apparel with his obnoxious initals emblazoned everwhere. Or maybe his Rolex commercials.
Either way, he reeks of delicate rich-ness, and Roddick always comes off as a quiet, hard worker. Credit to the victor, but to me it felt like it does when NU loses a game. Thanks for the post, Steve.