Andy Roddick Set To Retire

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Andy Roddick will retire from tennis at the conclusion of the U.S. Open | Busted Racquet - Yahoo! Sports

Instead of continuing a slow fade from the peak of men's tennis to the outskirts of the top 20, Andy Roddick has decided to step away from the sport.

Roddick, 30, announced at a press conference Thursday he will retire after the U.S. Open, meaning a man who has been the face of U.S. men's tennis since Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi retired could be passing the torch as soon as this week. The first chance for Roddick to extend his farewell tour will come Friday when he meets talented 19-year-old Australian Bernard Tomic in the second round of the U.S. Open.

"On some big moments this year, I think I've known I was done," Roddick said. "Walking off at Wimbledon, I felt like I knew. Playing here, I don't know what it was, but I couldn't imagine myself being here in another year.

"Whatever my faults were, I've always felt like I've never done anything halfway. This is probably the first time in my career that I can sit here and say, I'm not sure I can put everything into it physically and emotionally. I don't know if I want to disrespect the game by coasting home."

Roddick has been the best American men's player for much of the past decade, reaching No. 1 in the world for the first time in Nov. 2003 and amassing 32 ATP World Tour titles and 33 Davis Cup victories. His lone grand slam title came at the 2003 U.S. Open, but he reached the finals of Wimbledon three times, falling to Roger Federer each time including a 16-14 fifth-set heart breaker in 2009.

The departure of Roddick will again shine a light on the dearth of young American tennis talent capable of filling the void.

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Roddick's career ends with Open loss to del Potro - Yahoo! Sports

NEW YORK (AP) -- More than an hour after hitting one last shot as a professional tennis player, then delivering one last, voice-wavering speech to an adoring U.S. Open audience, Andy Roddick exited the locker room one last time.

Accompanied by his wife and other family members, a black baseball cap tugged low over his eyes, Roddick slung a racket bag off his aching right shoulder - the one responsible for so many high-speed aces, violent forehands and the most recent Grand Slam title by an American man - and tossed the equipment in the back of a waiting van.

Won't need that any longer.

Serenaded by choruses of ''Let's go, Andy!'' that rang through Arthur Ashe Stadium in the closing moments of his career, the 2003 U.S. Open champion headed into retirement with a 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4 loss to 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday.

''If we do badly, then it costs us something; if we do well, we get great things. This was about something bigger. It wasn't about ranking points or paychecks or anything else,'' Roddick said. ''This week I felt like I was 12 years old, playing in a park. It was extremely innocent. That was fun. I enjoyed it.''

It was a bittersweet goodbye, for the fans who gave him a standing ovation at the end - del Potro joined in, rising from his changeover chair to applaud - and for Roddick himself.

He covered his face with a white towel while seated on the sideline after sailing a running forehand long with the final swing of his racket. Earlier, he appeared to be trying to avoid crying while serving in the next-to-last game; in the stands, his wife, model-actress Brooklyn Decker, stuck a finger underneath her dark sunglasses to wipe away her tears.

''Playing the last five games was pretty hard. Once I got down a break, I could barely look at my (guest) box,'' Roddick said during a news conference sprinkled with the sort of witty one-liners he quickly came to be known for after turning pro in 2000. ''I don't know what the emotions are. I'm a little overwhelmed right now. I normally feel like I can grasp things pretty quickly and clearly. I certainly don't feel that way right now.''

During an on-court address to the crowd, Roddick got choked up, particularly when making a reference to his longtime agent, Ken Meyerson, who died last year.

When handed a microphone, Roddick began by saying: ''Oh, wow. For the first time in my career, I'm not sure what to say.''

''Since I was a kid, I've been coming to this tournament. I felt lucky just to sit where all of you are sitting today, to watch this game, to see the champions that have come and gone,'' Roddick told the fans in a moment reminiscent of Andre Agassi's farewell speech at the 2006 U.S. Open after his final match. ''I've loved every minute of it.''

It was appropriate that Roddick would leave tennis at Flushing Meadows, which is why he surprisingly announced last Thursday, his 30th birthday, that the U.S. Open would be his final tournament. A perfect bookend: He visited the hard-court Grand Slam tournament at age 9, a trip his parents gave him as a birthday present.

He would go on to win a junior title in New York, then the 2003 men's trophy at age 21, allowing him to end that season No. 1 in the ATP rankings. He later participated in four other major finals - one at the U.S. Open, three at Wimbledon - and lost each to Roger Federer, including a 16-14 fifth set at the All England Club in 2009.

''In my mind,'' Federer said last week, ''he is a Wimbledon champion.''

Roddick finished with a record of 612-213 (a winning percentage of .742). He won 32 tournament titles, led the United States to the 2007 Davis Cup championship, and injected a say-what-you-think personality into his sport.

''People always try to beat him up: 'You should have won more.' No, he got the maximum out of his game,'' said Roddick's coach, Larry Stefanki. ''He's a man of his word. A phenomenal competitor. He got all the hard work in. He prepared. He was a true professional. And he learned a lot over the years. He did it the right way. He's a first-vote Hall of Famer, no doubt in my mind. He can downplay that all he wants, but it's not even close, in my opinion.''