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Andy Roddick Announced Today He Will Retire After The U.S. Open

Once upon a time, Andy Roddick was the golden boy of American tennis. He was going to carry the torch Sampras and Agassi left behind, the one they themselves got from Connors and McEnroe. And it looked promising at first, after Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open. But along came Federer. And Nadal. And Djokovic. And Murray. And basically the rest of the world, who lapped Roddick and ensured his Open victory would be his first and last major championship. Today, Andy turned the big Three-O, and announced he will depart from tennis after the U.S. Open.

Regardless of his failure to compete on a high level against the world’s best, Roddick actually did string together a pretty impressive career. His 32 men’s singles titles are third most among active players, and he’s been a mainstay in the ATP World Top 20 for the better part of the last decade. And don’t forget the epic five-set final against Federer at the 2009 Wimbledon, where Roddick was able to push it to 14 games apiece in the last set before Roger won the last two. That’s gotta count for something, right?

The sad news is for U.S. tennis fans, is that someone as good as Roddick — which, considering the rest of the world’s strength isn’t saying much — isn’t anywhere on the horizon. But if you like international players, I guess you’ll be OK.

Personally, I think Roddick is heading off for better pastures. Let’s face it, he gets to be married to Brooklyn Decker full-time now. He is the only person in the world married to this woman. Forget tennis, that’s better than all the major championships in the world.

[CBS Sports, photo via Getty]

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