Andrew Stephen Roddick was born in Omaha, Nebraska on August 30, 1982 to Jerry and Blanche Roddick, both Americans. This tennis favorite picked up his first racket at the age of four and turned pro in 2000. Known for his explosive and powerful serves, Roddick ranks No. 14 in the world as of 2011 . He once held the record for the fastest serve in professional tennis at a speed of 155 mph, but has since then been superseded by Ivo Karlovic, who served at 156 mph. The highest rank that Roddick held was at No. 1, which he last occupied on November 2003.
He became the Grand Slam singles champion after winning the 2003 US Open and competed in three other Grand Slam finals, all of which he lost to Federer. In the same year, he was honored as ATP’s Player of the Year, becoming the youngest American to claim the number 1 spot at the end of the year during the Indesit ATP race.
| Born | 30 Aug 1982 |
| Nationality |
United States
|
In 2004, he won the Miami Masters and capped the year off in the world’s number 2 spot, aside from bagging the top spot in the US.
By 2006 he was able to beat Andy Murray at the Cincinnati Masters and moved on to compete against Fernando Gonzales, beating him to reach the Master’s finals of the year. He defeated Spanish champ Juan Carlos Ferrero to win his 21st career title, which was his first and only title for 2006.
In 2007 saw Roddick bagging the ATP title for the seventh straight year. He was also one of key players who led the US team to its first Davis Cup win against Russia, which was last won by the US in 1995. Roddick won his match against Dmitry Tursunov before James Blake, and Bob and Mark Bryan brought the winning matches home.
By 2008, he won two international tournament titles; these were in Beijing and in Dubai.
March 2009, he competed in the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells, up to the semifinal match but lost it to Rafael Nadal. His only win so far is his second Memphis title. The first one he won when he turned pro.
Roddick’s record currently shows 571 victories over 184 losses, with 30 titles to his name. He has also played some doubles, which gave him 4 career titles, and putting him at a current rank of No. 50.
