September 7, 2001 -- As his backhand winner down the line sent him into tomorrow's U.S. Open semifinals, Lleyton Hewitt fell face-down on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court, as much from exhaustion as relief. He'd needed all his stamina - and a little luck - to beat Andy Roddick 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 last night. After old-guard legends Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi put on a great show Wednesday, rising young stars Hewitt and Roddick showed the sport's future is pretty bright too. The 20-year-old Hewitt won a five-set classic that lasted three hours and 40 minutes and was aided by a questionable call.

"I don't worry about it. I'm doing my job," said Hewitt, who was booed roundly by the crowd. "I wanted to make the semifinals again in Master series, but I haven't been able to take that next step in a slam. To be in the semis again here, it's great."

Hewitt, never the friend of umps and linesmen, got a big break leading 5-4 entering the 10th game of the final set. Roddick, serving to save the match, hit a forehand that caught the line. When chair ump Jorge Dias overruled and called it out, the 19-year-old Roddick lost his cool and the match.

The vexed teen berated Dias, asking, "Are you an absolute moron?" But he was clearly off his game, and Hewitt broke him for the third time, and sealed it with his winner that gave him his second straight U.S. Open semifinal berth, this one vs. Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

It was thick irony, after the hotheaded Hewitt had insulted a chair ump at the French Open and caused a stir when he had a linesman moved last week for calling foot-faults against him, calls he seemingly insinuated were racially motivated. This time, the call went his way.

"Yeah, I do [feel robbed]. I meant it at the time," Roddick said. "I'm definitely disappointed in myself for letting it do that to me, but I had pretty darn good reason for it. Maybe the more experience I get, I'll handle it better, but that's tough to handle.

"That's not a ball he can saw 100 percent out. If he can say that he's a liar. There's no way he would bet his house on that call. Hopefully in the future I won't blow up."

Roddick, named to the Davis Cup yesterday, was playing in his record fourth night match at the Open. Clearly his budding rivalry with Hewitt could become one of tennis' best. They've met twice, with Hewitt winning both, including in May at Roland Garros, when Roddick pulled his left hamstring, retiring with the match tied in the third set.

This time, Hewitt just outlasted him, breaking his serve in the pivotal game.

The climactic fifth set went on serve, with Hewitt surviving a marathon ninth point that was at deuce four times and saw Roddick at break-point again and again. But when it came time for Hewitt to break his foe, he did.

Hewitt, small but quick on the baseline, handled Roddick's 141-mph serve well. Billed the future of U.S. Tennis, his only glaring flaw seems to be fragility. Just this year, he's suffered cramps, a pulled hamstring and a sprained ankle that he twisted again last night in the first game of the second set.

Last night Hewitt just outlasted him, physically and emotionally.

Friday, September 7

Roddick Protests Overrule By Greg Garber ESPN.com

NEW YORK -- Welcome to the glowering, highly strung, fist-pumping, hat-backwards future of men's tennis.

In Thursday night's remaining U.S. Open men's quarterfinal, it was Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, 20, against American Andy Roddick, who turned 19 four days ago. It wasn't Sampras-Agassi, but it was in its own way a sublime show at the National Tennis Center.

On this night, anyway, that one year -- and the wisdom accumulated in 183 more professional tennis matches -- seemed to make the subtle difference. Hewitt, showing superb conditioning, both mental and physical, outlasted Roddick 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in a match that ran three hours and 40 minutes.

The final game was marred by a controversial overrule by chair umpire Jorge Dias.

Roddick was serving at 4-5 to level the match in the fifth set when things came undone. Dias overruled a non-call of a shot that appeared to clip the line and awarded the game's first point to Hewitt. Roddick went ballistic, and never really recovered.

"That freakin' ball was on the line," he shrieked. "What is wrong with you?"

Later, Roddick explained, "Guy overrules on a far sideline on a ball that was in -- that's just infuriating. I don't even remember anything after that. I needed to push it out of my mind, and it wasn't all the way gone.

"When you start off a game love-15, it puts that much pressure on you. I've never seen that call at 4-5 in the fifth. That was an absolutely pathetic call. No umpire in their right mind ever makes that call. The rule is you have to see it 100 percent for sure to make that call. He's a liar if he says that.

"That's the worst I've ever lost it on a tennis court. Maybe when I'm older I won't let something like that affect me."

"It happens," Hewitt said, "but you can't say someone can't overrule because of which stage the match is in. The way he (Dias) sees it, he has to go with his instinct. Obviously, he thought the ball was out."

Thus, Roddick's magnificent run through this tournament ended in his fifth match of the fortnight, but he'll be back. Hewitt, who reached the semifinals here for the second straight year, will meet Yevgeny Kafelnikov in a Saturday semifinal.

"I was feeling a bit dodgy after losing the fourth set," Hewitt said afterward. "Andy's got a tough game. I didn't see how I was going to break him in the fifth set. But I made a few shots and he made a few errors."

In so many ways, Roddick and Hewitt are essentially the same guy, separated only by a half a world. Hewitt simply arrived one year earlier. At one point in the fourth set, when they were both wearing dark shirts and shorts and white baseball caps, they were virtually indistinguishable.

Roddick, at 6-foot-2, is bigger and has more formidable weapons, notably a serve that sometimes approaches invisibility and a hammer of a forehand. Hewitt is average-sized, but he compensates nicely by covering more ground than any player in the game and exhibiting the tenacity of a pit bull; there is no ball he won't try to run down.

The two spent the better part of the evening attacking each other's backhands (and running around their own) and, for the most part, blasting from the baseline.

It was the 13th five-set match of Hewitt's four-year professional career, while Roddick was playing in only his second five-frame match.

Hewitt was 19 years and six months last year when he made it all the way to the U.S. Open semifinals, his deepest penetration to date in a Grand Slam event. He lost there to Pete Sampras but learned an early lesson in the logistics of winning seven matches over a two-week period.

"I wanted to make the semifinals again," Hewitt said. "Coming back here and defending the semis, it's a big relief to be through."

Toward that end, Hewitt passed on doubles entirely, even though he was the defending men's champion (with Max Mirnyi) and his girlfriend, Kim Clijsters, is the world's fifth-ranked woman.

The carefully constructed cocoon was ruptured, however, when Hewitt let loose a few words in a second-round match against James Blake. Furious after getting called for a second foot fault, Hewitt asked the umpire to remove the offending linesman who, like Blake, was black. At the very least, he implied that the similarities in their skin color was connected to the calls. Some took the comments as racist, but Hewitt denied it.

Hewitt has spent the last week trying to play past the controversy. On Thursday night, he and Roddick finally succeeded.

Like Sampras and Agassi the night before, they sailed through the first set without a service break. It was Hewitt, the far more experienced player, who showed some nerves in the tiebreaker. Tied at 1-all, Hewitt blew not one but two makeable forehand volleys. After he missed another forehand wide and Roddick countered with a forehand down the line, it was suddenly 5-1. Eventually, Roddick closed the deal with a 136 mph ace down the middle.

Hewitt answered quickly. In the second game of the second set, he broke Roddick when the Nebraskan double-faulted. Roddick smashed his racket and bided his time. He saved four break points in the sixth game, but he could get no closer than deuce to breaking Hewitt.

Early in the set, Roddick rolled over his right ankle trying to change direction too abruptly. It might have been a coincidence, but Roddick didn't seem as recklessly aggressive immediately after the incident. That also could have been the Hewitt factor at work; the human backboard tends to inflict heavy cumulative damage.

Two hours into the match, Roddick scored his very first break point. Typically, he went for too much on a forehand runner and it found the top of the net. The deuce point that followed was the best of the night to that point. It was a back-and-forth point that Hewitt somehow ran down when he forced Roddick to push a forehand volley into the net. That brought Hewitt's first major demonstration, his classic arched-back, double-fisted roar. Hewit held serve at 3-all and when Roddick's energy level briefly flagged, he jumped.

Roddick double-faulted at love-30 and lost his serve when he missed a forehand cross-court attempt wide. In a span of a few minutes, he went from a potential lead to a deep, deep hole. Hewitt, applying more and more pressure, took the third set and seemed headed for the match.

After Roddick held serve to open the fourth set, a curious thing happened. Hewitt's intensity waned slightly and Roddick actually scored his first break of the match. It came on a double-fault and it gave Roddick the opening he'd been working toward all night.

Hewitt fought off two break points in the fourth game, but Roddick's confidence seemed to blossom. He pushed the match to an ultimate fifth set, but it didn't come easily.

Roddick double-faulted three times in the ninth game, then threw away two set points, saved a game point that would have brought the set back on serve, and ultimately prevailed when Hewitt couldn't handle another of his service bombs.

The fifth set came down to Diaz' overrule and Hewitt won it with a gallant backhand pass down the line. He fell to his knees when he realized he had advanced to his second Grand Slam semifinal.

"Lleyton is a great competitor," Roddick said. "He was too good for me tonight. All credit to him. He handles my power better than anybody in the world, but I'm learning.

"I have a lot to improve on. I'm nowhere near finished."

Roddick's Fine Play Is a Secret No Longer By SELENA ROBERTS, Sept. 3, NY TIMES

Not long ago, Andy Roddick was not behind the wheel of his life, able to pick and choose what products to endorse, what appearances to make, or even what music was played on the car radio.

"When I used to drive him to school, we had a deal," Roddick's mother, Blanche, said. "On one way, I had the radio. On one way, he had the radio. Once, when he was about 15, we were listening to the oldies and he said: `No wonder you grew up in a happy time, your music is happy.' "

Most days, Roddick has a Dave Matthews tune pumping through his ears, but somewhere, Bing Crosby must be humming in the back of his head. Three days after his 19th birthday, these must be toe-tapping, feel- good times for Roddick.

Yesterday, Roddick advanced to the United States Open's Round of 16, defeating 11th-seeded Alex Corretja, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"I'm no longer the new guy," said Roddick, who was ranked No. 338 a year ago before taking off to win three Tour events this year. "What am I trying to say? I'm not surprising anybody. I'm not sneaking up on anybody anymore."

Committing only 16 unforced errors to go with 16 aces served at a top speed of 138 miles an hour, Roddick played as flawlessly as Corretja usually does.

"On the court, I just felt lost, completely out of rhythm," Corretja said. "If he would play bad, maybe I would have my chance."

Roddick was not going to let the spell be broken. On Friday night, he learned that lesson when Jack Brasington took him to a fourth set after Roddick took off with such ease.

"I was just saying, `Don't let up even though you're comfortably ahead,' " said Roddick, who tucked away Corretja in 1 hour 44 minutes. "I said, `Don't let your mind wander.' "

He has yet to show the short attention span of other teenagers. Roddick is maturing at a rate no one ever expected, even Roddick.

"I'm as surprised as anybody out there," Roddick said. "I wasn't thinking at the beginning of the year that I'm going to come in, do this, do that. My goals at the beginning of the year were to be in the top 60 by the end. I thought that was realistic. I've exceeded my expectations, but I'm not going to think too much about that. I want to keep that going. I don't want to be satisfied, yet."

At 19, Roddick has the strokes, and he's stoked

Melissa Isaacson Published September 3, 2001, Chicago Tribune

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. -- He has gone from kid to contender so quickly that Andy Roddick isn't sure whether to be stoked or play it cool.

More often than not, he opts for the former, which restores your faith in the 19-year-old's staying power.

Such are the stakes of tennis stardom that before winning his first Grand Slam title, Roddick raises concerns that if his 140 m.p.h. serve doesn't separate his shoulder from his torso, thus shortening a legendary career, he'll turn surly from the pressure.

In slightly more time than it takes him to wolf down an entire pizza by himself, Roddick has become a player, both in the literal and figurative sense, positively dismembering this year's French Open finalist Alex Corretja 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in Sunday's third round of the U.S. Open and generating some serious buzz about going all the way.

That this is the furthest young Andy has advanced in a Grand Slam tournament seems incidental. "I've played two third rounds of Grand Slams this year, one on stadium [court] and one on Court 1 at Wimbledon," said Roddick when asked how aware he is of each new experience. "So I don't classify this as a new experience."

Perhaps. But if the Rockettes saluting him on his 19th birthday last week didn't move him, then hearing that U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe has all but put him on the team for the next round made Roddick nearly giddy.

And though he admits to tiring of "a certain question that's getting a little redundant"--referring to the great American men's tennis void he'll fill when geezers Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras get out of the way--Roddick can't possibly contain the youthful exuberance that oozes out of him.

"I'm not sneaking up on anybody anymore," Roddick said. " Still, I'm definitely having fun. I'm playing tennis. That's a blast."

It is unquestionably the most appealing part of a game that includes that bionic serve, a killer forehand and an improving backhand. Roddick, in a way Jimmy Connors perfected and John McEnroe could not avoid, plays to the crowd like a virtuoso, reveling in the energy of New York fans who eat it up.

But then, Roddick has always been that type of kid, recalling once as a small child turning up in the background of a newspaper photo of his tennis-playing older brother. "I was all stoked because my hat was in a picture," he recalled. "I was like, `Yeah, man. I'm famous.'"

That kind of enthusiasm, as we all know, is as unfamiliar to pro athletes as buying retail. But to Roddick, who still lives with his parents and has Nintendo in his bedroom, it still comes naturally.

"It's very exciting to see, just as a fan of tennis," said Patrick McEnroe. "Hundreds of people come see him practice, they feed off his excitement. He loves the game, and people want to see that in athletes."

Even when he loses his temper on court, which he does from time to time, Roddick comes off as more mischievous than bratty, more your kid brother than superstar.

Approaching the chair umpire on one disputed call Sunday, Roddick said he told him, "`When they show the replay, you're not going to look too smart because you're wrong.' I bet they showed it," he said afterward. "And I bet he was wrong."

Roddick caught a break Sunday when 39th-ranked Tommy Robredo defeated fifth-seeded Carlos Ferrero, thus seemingly paving the way for a Roddick-Lleyton Hewitt quarterfinal.

Dead even with Hewitt in the third round at the French Open this year, Roddick had to retire with a thigh injury. But ever since he fought through cramps to beat Michael Chang in a five-setter one round earlier, no one has questioned Roddick's toughness. And since he won his third title and first on hardcourts in Washington last month, no one questions his legitimacy.

In a little over a year, Roddick has gone from a ranking of 596th to 18th.

Roddick defeated Sampras in two sets at the Ericsson Open in March, after which Sampras marveled: "He played with no fear. That's always the case when you're first starting out."

It was surely the case with Sampras, who won his first Open at 19. But Sampras was always a little angst-ridden. More than a little shocked.

And never this stoked.

CROWD DESERTS RODDICK IN WIN OVER QUALIFIER

By MARC BERMAN, NY Post

September 1, 2001 -- American teen sensation Andy Roddick found himself in unfamiliar territory. The crowd was rooting against him. The U.S. Open night-card throng always loves a good underdog, and after 223rd-ranked Jack Brasington was overwhelmed in the first two sets, the Flushing Meadows fans hitched their support to the American qualifier who nearly forced A-Rod into a fifth set.

Brasington pulled out the third set, breaking Roddick twice, then battled him into a fourth-set tiebreaker, taking a 3-0 lead. Roddick reeled off four straight points, Brasington double-faulted on match point and A-Rod pulled out a 6-2, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4) struggle, advancing to the third round against Alex Corretja.

Afterward, the theatrical Roddick urged the crowd on to cheer Brasington even more, clapping his hand against the strings of his racket. "I was lucky to get out in four sets," said the 18th-seeded Roddick, who celebrated his 19th birthday Thursday by having two Rockettes sing to him coming off a practice court. "This could've worked out positively that I had to battle."

Roddick has gotten so popular he even has drawn Open protesters. A fellow in the upper reaches of Arthur Ashe Stadium brandished posters aimed at Roddick that decried the state of the men's power game while chanting the messages written on his signs. "Save tennis: Bring back Wood," read one sign. "Power tennis is dull," read another.

The fan was removed by an usher while fans gave him a standing ovation. Yet one of the loudest cheers came on Roddick's 141 mph service fault.

"He rants and raves but he's been out here both nights watching," Roddick cracked.

Friday, August 31, 2001

Future Star Gazing by Dana Czapnik

Under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium Friday night, the future of American tennis shone brightly as No. 18 Andy Roddick, who turned 19 Thursday, defeated 24-year-old qualifier Jack Brasington. Roddick dominated Brasington in the first two sets, but Brasington made a run with the crowd behind him.

"The first two sets I could not settle in," said Brasington, who made his first Grand Slam tournament appearance here. "I told myself come on, get into it!"

Trailing 4-2 in the third, Brasington stole the set back, which unnerved Roddick, and refused to allow Roddick break his serve in the fourth for the match, forcing a tiebreak. Roddick's fastest serve registered 139mph while Brasington hit the 125mph mark. Roddick will face No. 11 Alex Corretja in the third round.

ANDY RODDICK

Boom! Whack! Zap! Pow! These are not special effects from Batman. Say hello to Andy Roddick, the future of U.S. tennis.

Roddick walks, talks and plays staccato-quick and ruthlessly powerful. Check out his serve. Watch how he quick-whips the racquet up into hitting position. No time for dropping it down. Up and into the ball, regularly at 130 mph-plus on his first serve. His second serve has one of the nastier kicks you'll see. From wham-bam serve to bazooka forehand and forthright backhand, Roddick's brand of first-strike tennis threatens to up the game's power ante.

"He's definitely the future of American tennis," says Pete Sampras, "and that future is looking very good."

"I love competition," says Roddick, who will turn 19 during the US Open. He turned pro a year ago but, by dint of tennis' complicated rules, was still playing junior tennis. Rolling into Flushing Meadows, Roddick took home the US Open junior title and finished 2000 as the No. 1 junior in the world. "They've been talking about [me being the future of tennis] for about a year now," Roddick says. "People will say what they will. I just try not to pay attention to it."

Never one to waste time, Roddick kicked off his pro career rapidly. At this year's Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, he beat Sampras in the third round, repeatedly jarring the great champion with powerful serves and returns. A month later, in only his 10th pro event, he won his first tournament at the ATP's Atlanta stop. No one—including the "Fab Four" generation of Sampras, Andre Agassi, Michael Chang and Jim Courier—ever won a title so quickly.

"What I like best about him was that after the win in Atlanta, he came to Houston [for the U.S. Clay Court Championships] and kept up the good play," says former pro turned FoxSports analyst Leif Shiras, who commentated at both events. "By the time he reached that Houston final, he'd won nine straight matches and was feeling tired and cranky. But somehow he found a way to win."

Born in Omaha, Roddick grew up in a family heavily focused on sports. Seeing tennis potential in Andy's oldest brother, John, parents Blanche and Jerry relocated to warmer climes in Austin, Texas. By the time Andy was 10, they'd resettled in Boca Raton, Fla. John eventually became an All-American at the University of Georgia, where he's now the assistant coach of the men's tennis team. Andy grew his own game, honing an arsenal based on Connors-like intensity. "I'm pretty fiery out there," Roddick says. "I want it and I am emotional. Most of the time that works to my benefit."

Emotions, serves and forehands all came into play this spring at Roland Garros. Up against Chang in the second round, Roddick fought through a seasoned opponent, his own nerves and fifth-set cramps to strike a Roland Garros record 37 aces while winning 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7, 7-5. "It was a relief, joy—you can't explain moments like that," Roddick said following the nearly four-hour epic. "That's what you play tennis for." In the next round, at 1-1 against Lleyton Hewitt, Roddick pulled a hamstring and was forced to withdraw. Still, the Roland Garros effort validated his ascent. At the end of 2000, Roddick was No. 160 on the ATP's champions race. By June, he'd cracked the Top 30.

What's most striking about Roddick is his spontaneity and sponge-like absorption—an eagerness much less mental than purely physical. In April 2000, Roddick was selected to be a hitting partner for the Davis Cup tie in Los Angeles. Practicing with Agassi, Roddick walked up to strike volleys and was rapidly exposed to a friendly hazing ritual—Agassi blasting balls as hard as he could at the youngster. Initially off balance, Roddick struck these balls late. Ten minutes later, though, Roddick was the one whacking big kick serves and forehands into the corners. Agassi loved it.

"I've practiced with [Andy] a lot, and I think he has a real nice game," Agassi says. "He has a great presence on the court. He does a lot of things well and has a long way to improve, which is a great sign, seeing that he's already playing and competing on this level."

"What Roddick has is that quality of 'it,' " says former touring pro and psychologist Allen Fox. "When you have 'it,' you go for big shots under pressure—and you make them. He's got real firepower and the guts to use it, too."

Beneath his backwards-turned hat, Roddick would no doubt nod. — Joel Drucker

Tuesday, August 28, 2001 A-Rod Powers Into Second Round by Dana Czapnik

No. 18 Andy Roddick blew past a slumping Slava Dosedel in their first round match Tuesday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium. With his fastest serve of the match registering at 139 mph, Roddick served his way to 16 aces in the one-hour, 46-minute match. Roddick never gave Dosedel the opportunity to assert himself in the match and dominated on serve with 79% accuracy on his first serves. Roddick will face Jack Brasington, another Florida native, in the second round.