America’s darling, Andy Roddick, let his temper get the best of him in his second-round match at the U.S. Open yesterday – his worst performance at a Grand Slam tennis tournament since 2008. And his own feet could very well have been the culprit.
After committing a foot fault, Roddick seemingly reverted to the old and uncontrolled A-Rod when he verbally exploded at the line judge during a pivotal third set. He walked over to the umpire and aggressively pleaded his case – but the call stood.
Then, rather than letting it go and returning to fight what seemed to already become an uphill battle, the 9th seeded Roddick continued to pester the line judge about what he thought was the wrong call.
This wasn’t a wise move. And worse, Andy Roddick knew better. The former champion of 2003, knows what it takes to win here. And letting your emotions and temper run wild behind 1 call are nowhere in a winning equation.
Intense focus is a core component that you MUST have in your game plan if you want to be the last man standing here in Flushing Meadows, New York.
And hey, this isn’t the first time it’s happened either. Many say it was an outburst similar to this that cost Andy a chance at the title when he faced Leyton Hewitt in the US Open back in 2001. Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t be passionate, but you have to control it.
If he did, who knows… His fans could have arguably been cheering on A-Rod late into the second week – and possibly to another US Open crown.
Andy Roddick Couldn’t Hang In the Tiebreak…
The reality is that Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic kept it together through all the confusion and beat Andy Roddick, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in a match that finished one minute before midnight at the National Tennis Center here in New York.
Andy Roddick was the highest-ranked American in the men’s draw and one of seven in action yesterday, when No. 19 John Isner and No. 20 Sam Querrey advanced along with 220th-ranked qualifier Ryan Harrison, who upset 15th-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia.
