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Andy Roddick’s Tennis Career Ended, And Then He Talked About Seeing A Boob

It was a fitting end for Andy Roddick’s tennis career, given it played out like so much of the rest of it – he played valiantly, but ultimately didn’t have quite enough to beat a guy who just a little bit better. Today, Juan Martin del Potro assumed the role Roger Federer played in four major finals before, besting Roddick 6-7(1), 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-4 and hastening the retirement Roddick previously announced was coming whenever his U.S. Open run ended.

None of this is said to belittle Roddick’s accomplishments. He won a major and made four other finals – and in one of those finals (2009 Wimbledon), he pushed Federer to the absolute brink before succumbing to the greatest player in the history of the sport – really, even saying “succumbing” feels wrong, because it was the kind of match that feels wrong to say anyone even lost. He’s a former world No. 1. He won 32 singles titles. Hell, he actually beat Federer earlier this year. And he did it all carrying the (unfair) burden of being the Last Great Hope of American tennis, a burden he carried even long after he was a truly elite-level player.

Besides, Roddick’s 30 now. In tennis-years, that’s pretty old, unless you’re Federer or Agassi. He’s reached a point where most players think about hanging it up, whereas del Potro turns 24 later this month and is one of the most talented players on tour. It’s to Roddick’s credit he pushed him as hard as he did. For his effort today, and through the years, Roddick earned the moment the fans (and an extremely gracious del Potro – who, apropos of nothing, strikes me as something of a teddy bear, if the teddy bear were 6-foot-6 and in possession of the world’s most terrifying forehand… yet still, somehow, very huggable) gave him after the match:

Giving his all for the fans, for tennis – that’s one reason Roddick was as well-liked as he was. Another: he wasn’t afraid to flash some personality, either. So it was also fitting that, in his last (well, barring unretirement) post-match press conference, he got to demonstrate that too, by talking about b00b13z:

True, Roddick’s interactions with reporters, so downright jolly above, could also tend more toward the prickly. Same with his relationship with chair umpires (something Roddick himself recently poked fun at). The guy wasn’t a total angel. But it says a lot that the reactions from those same media members with whom he could get testy have been, in the wake of his retirement, overwhelmingly positive from what I’ve seen. Roddick wasn’t perfect. If only we could all be so flawed.

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