It looked quite misleadingly like business as usual at the US Open on Wednesday: Andy Roddick with a microphone in his hand and sweat dripping off the bill of his cap onto the blue court inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Roddick, after all, has long been the tennis world's leading blacksmith and wordsmith - a champion defined by his work ethic and his wit, as well as that quick and brutally effective service motion.
It has been quite a combination for 12 years, long enough for Roddick to win 612 tour singles matches and 32 singles titles, including the 2003 US Open. Long enough to reach No. 1 and four other Grand Slam singles finals: three at Wimbledon and one here at Flushing Meadows in 2006. Long enough to commit to Davis Cup match after Davis Cup match to the occasional detriment of his individual pursuits and win that team competition in 2007.
Roddick had an exceedingly tough act to follow when he broke into the professional game in the wake of the great American generation led by Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. He was unable to scale the same heights, but following Roddick's act will be no short forehand to the open court either. And it is now time - bittersweet though it felt Wednesday - for the next, and for now much less distinguished, American generation to take on that burden.
"I think Andy should look back at his career and feel very proud of what he's been able to do and how he's done it," Sampras said in a telephone interview. "You could say he was handed a tough hand, but he played it well."
After determining in the midst of his first-round victory that this would be his last tournament, Roddick pushed into the fourth round before losing to Juan Martin del Potro, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4.
Roddick, 30, did his part to make his final Open act compelling, giving del Potro - the seventh seed - plenty of different looks and spins. He mixed huge forehands with crisply sliced backhands that forced the 6-foot-6 Argentine to bend low to extend the rallies.
Roddick also provided plenty of the aggression that some of his coaches have wanted to see more of through the years.
There were high-risk approach shots, lunging drop volley winners and overheads that brooked no argument. As fans watched him at work with no guarantee of future opportunities, it seemed important to savor the details: the twirl of his racket before launching into his service motion; the exaggerated puff of his cheeks on impact; the no-look point for the towel that, in light of his elevated perspiration rate, has always been more necessity than crutch.
Del Potro was the first to be interviewed on court but he quickly and gracefully stepped aside and offered the floor to Roddick, who was soon handed the microphone as his wife, Brooklyn Decker, cried in the stands, seeking support on the shoulder of Roddick's longtime trainer, Doug Spreen.
"For the first time in my career, I'm not sure what to say," Roddick said to the crowd. "My gosh. Where do I start? Since I was a kid I've been coming to this tournament and I felt lucky just to sit where all of you are sitting today, to watch this game, to see the champions that have come and gone. I've loved every minute of it."
But the words soon came easier for Roddick at his postmatch news conference, a setting where he has often looked more at ease after big matches in the age of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal than he has during many a match against Federer and Nadal.
"The thing that is certain is I didn't take anything for granted," Roddick said. "You know, I think I went about things the right way. The umpires might disagree with me. You know, I was consistent, and I don't feel like I left a lot on the table on a daily basis. When I look back, that's probably what I'm most proud of."
His one Grand Slam singles title came early at the US Open in 2003, the same year he finished No. 1 and just a year after Sampras won the 2002 US Open in his final match. But the transition, which looked smooth at first, quickly turned bumpy with Federer's and then Nadal's rise to greatness. But Roddick, still a young man, kept hustling and searching for solutions despite the disappointments, none bigger than his defeat in the epic 2009 Wimbledon final to Federer, who defeated him, 16-14, in the fifth set.
"In my own eyes, I see Andy as a multiple Slam winner," Agassi said in a telephone interview. "He's obviously come along in what I think history will say is the golden age of tennis and he's had to deal with that, but at the same time he also has made his own impact. He's created some incredible memories."
Roddick's exit leaves US tennis without a bona fide men's singles star. He was the last American man to win a Grand Slam singles title, and no American man currently competing on the main tour has reached even a Grand Slam singles semifinal.
"It is a little thin, unfortunately," Sampras said. "Andy really is the last truly great American player. No disrespect to the guys playing now, but they are not quite to the level where Andy was.
"It goes in phases. Hopefully, John Isner and some of these young guys can come through."
Roddick has done his part to help that group: advising them, encouraging them, training with them on the road and at his home in Austin, Tex. But the longtime leader of the American men's game is now a retiree, and Agassi, who retired in 2006, thinks that Roddick's next act will be the richer for all the lows that have accompanied the highs.
"I'm sure he feels that he wishes one or two things could have gone differently in his career," Agassi said. "But I've got to say looking from the outside, listening to him talk now, listening to his clarity and his decision-making, knowing him as a person, I also believe those hard times, those unfortunate moments, the losses and never getting back to what he had so early on, has really helped sort of mold him as a person.
And I think ultimately that's a greater gift than adding another trophy to the shelf, because he's more prepared for the majority of his life as a result of that than otherwise. I assure you that those hard lessons they come with a gift."
Roddick, after all, has long been the tennis world's leading blacksmith and wordsmith - a champion defined by his work ethic and his wit, as well as that quick and brutally effective service motion.
It has been quite a combination for 12 years, long enough for Roddick to win 612 tour singles matches and 32 singles titles, including the 2003 US Open. Long enough to reach No. 1 and four other Grand Slam singles finals: three at Wimbledon and one here at Flushing Meadows in 2006. Long enough to commit to Davis Cup match after Davis Cup match to the occasional detriment of his individual pursuits and win that team competition in 2007.
Roddick had an exceedingly tough act to follow when he broke into the professional game in the wake of the great American generation led by Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. He was unable to scale the same heights, but following Roddick's act will be no short forehand to the open court either. And it is now time - bittersweet though it felt Wednesday - for the next, and for now much less distinguished, American generation to take on that burden.
"I think Andy should look back at his career and feel very proud of what he's been able to do and how he's done it," Sampras said in a telephone interview. "You could say he was handed a tough hand, but he played it well."
After determining in the midst of his first-round victory that this would be his last tournament, Roddick pushed into the fourth round before losing to Juan Martin del Potro, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4.
Roddick, 30, did his part to make his final Open act compelling, giving del Potro - the seventh seed - plenty of different looks and spins. He mixed huge forehands with crisply sliced backhands that forced the 6-foot-6 Argentine to bend low to extend the rallies.
Roddick also provided plenty of the aggression that some of his coaches have wanted to see more of through the years.
There were high-risk approach shots, lunging drop volley winners and overheads that brooked no argument. As fans watched him at work with no guarantee of future opportunities, it seemed important to savor the details: the twirl of his racket before launching into his service motion; the exaggerated puff of his cheeks on impact; the no-look point for the towel that, in light of his elevated perspiration rate, has always been more necessity than crutch.
Del Potro was the first to be interviewed on court but he quickly and gracefully stepped aside and offered the floor to Roddick, who was soon handed the microphone as his wife, Brooklyn Decker, cried in the stands, seeking support on the shoulder of Roddick's longtime trainer, Doug Spreen.
"For the first time in my career, I'm not sure what to say," Roddick said to the crowd. "My gosh. Where do I start? Since I was a kid I've been coming to this tournament and I felt lucky just to sit where all of you are sitting today, to watch this game, to see the champions that have come and gone. I've loved every minute of it."
But the words soon came easier for Roddick at his postmatch news conference, a setting where he has often looked more at ease after big matches in the age of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal than he has during many a match against Federer and Nadal.
"The thing that is certain is I didn't take anything for granted," Roddick said. "You know, I think I went about things the right way. The umpires might disagree with me. You know, I was consistent, and I don't feel like I left a lot on the table on a daily basis. When I look back, that's probably what I'm most proud of."
His one Grand Slam singles title came early at the US Open in 2003, the same year he finished No. 1 and just a year after Sampras won the 2002 US Open in his final match. But the transition, which looked smooth at first, quickly turned bumpy with Federer's and then Nadal's rise to greatness. But Roddick, still a young man, kept hustling and searching for solutions despite the disappointments, none bigger than his defeat in the epic 2009 Wimbledon final to Federer, who defeated him, 16-14, in the fifth set.
"In my own eyes, I see Andy as a multiple Slam winner," Agassi said in a telephone interview. "He's obviously come along in what I think history will say is the golden age of tennis and he's had to deal with that, but at the same time he also has made his own impact. He's created some incredible memories."
Roddick's exit leaves US tennis without a bona fide men's singles star. He was the last American man to win a Grand Slam singles title, and no American man currently competing on the main tour has reached even a Grand Slam singles semifinal.
"It is a little thin, unfortunately," Sampras said. "Andy really is the last truly great American player. No disrespect to the guys playing now, but they are not quite to the level where Andy was.
"It goes in phases. Hopefully, John Isner and some of these young guys can come through."
Roddick has done his part to help that group: advising them, encouraging them, training with them on the road and at his home in Austin, Tex. But the longtime leader of the American men's game is now a retiree, and Agassi, who retired in 2006, thinks that Roddick's next act will be the richer for all the lows that have accompanied the highs.
"I'm sure he feels that he wishes one or two things could have gone differently in his career," Agassi said. "But I've got to say looking from the outside, listening to him talk now, listening to his clarity and his decision-making, knowing him as a person, I also believe those hard times, those unfortunate moments, the losses and never getting back to what he had so early on, has really helped sort of mold him as a person.
And I think ultimately that's a greater gift than adding another trophy to the shelf, because he's more prepared for the majority of his life as a result of that than otherwise. I assure you that those hard lessons they come with a gift."