By DALE ROBERTSON
June 7, 2000
PARIS -- His name is Andrew Roddick, but go ahead and call him Andy, like his parents do. Born in Omaha, Neb., and a childhood resident of Austin, he has lived in Boca Raton, Fla., since he was 10 years old. But now, rather suddenly, the entire United States, from sea to shining sea, should claim him as its own.
Paddling furiously against the tennis tide, one that is sweeping American influence straight out to sea at an alarming pace, the 17-year-old Roddick has been the No. 1-ranked male junior on the whole blessed planet since late December. And at present, he is also the final American in Paris still standing in any of the singles competitions -- men or women, boys or girls -- at the French Open.
Lonely, Andy?
"I'm trying not to think about that," he said after cruising into the quarterfinals of the boys singles and doubles at Roland Garros on Wednesday. "It's two separate tournaments. I can't be concerned with what's going on (in the main draw). But I'm hearing a lot about it."
Here's why: Before our latest French frying, Americans had not been shut out of the men's and women's semis simultaneously in any Grand Slam stop since the 1989 Australian Open. Prior to that, it had happened only thrice dating to the advent of the Open Era, also each time in Australia during an era when that tournament rarely attracted the leading Yanks en masse.
Things had turned so grim for the poor, downtrodden U.S. since the French fortnight began that, after American women went down one, two, three in successive quarterfinals Tuesday, rumors were rife that Roland Garros officials might remove the hot dogs and chocolate chip cookies from the menu at the food court to make more room for croque monsieurs and fromage blanc.
In reality, though, with D-Day remembrances at the forefront of their collective consciousness this week, the French are showing a bit of heartfelt compassion. They have graciously offered to let us share women's semifinalist Mary Pierce -- she carries a French passport and is French-Canadian by birth, but Mary is a Florida transplant the same as Roddick -- against Martina Hingis today.
Also, it is a French-Algerian coach, Tariq Benhabiles, reared on Roland Garros' red clay himself, who deserves much credit for directing Roddick's startling bull run to the top of tennis' apprentice class.
Turns out Benhabiles lives close to the Roddicks' home in Boca. Andy's mother, Blanche, would be introduced to him at a tournament and was immediately impressed with his manner -- not to mention his résumé. He had previously coached five journeymen, including France's Cedric Pioline and Morocco's comer, Hicham Arazi, into top-25 rankings.
"Tariq," she said, "has been phenomenal."
Had Andy's destiny been to become, say, a free safety, there would have been no arguable reason for him to relocate from the Cornhusker plain or Texas' Hill Country. Given that he is suddenly the lone great white, red and blue hope on the horizon of tennis' male domain, however, it is exceedingly fortunate Roddick's parents found Florida an OK place to settle.
They first moved to Boca for their older son John's tennis needs. They stayed there because Andy, in his early teens, fell in love with the game, too.
"Austin was a hard place to leave," Blanche said. "We had planned to return when John graduated from high school. We kept our house there. But Andy needed to be in Boca."
No question, learning to strike a tennis ball with world-class oomph and precision requires the surfeit of balmy weather, strong competition and quality tutoring that South Florida has to offer, certainly relative to anywhere else in the country. But Roddick also caught a break -- a big one, literally -- before fate brought him under Benhabiles' influence.
"In January 1997," Andy said, "I was 5-1. By the (December) 1999 Orange Bowl, I was 6-1."
The extra foot wreaked temporary havoc with his back, but those problems have since been solved with an extensive stretching regimen overseen by his father, Jerry. Benhabiles has, in turn, given Andy a winning plan plus the confidence to execute it. He has won four significant junior events since December, including the Orange Bowl and the Australian Open.
A year ago, Andy lost here in the first round, winning only three games. Now, the boy has become a man. For America's tennis future, he is the man.
