Biography of Andy Roddick

 
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is the top-ranked American player and the only American inside the ATP top 10. As of July 5, 2010, he is ranked World No. 9 by the ATP rankings.
 
He became a Grand Slam singles champion when he won the title at the 2003 US Open, defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the finals. Roddick has reached four other Grand Slam finals (Wimbledon three times and the US Open once), losing to Roger Federer each time.

 

He and Federer are the only players to have been ranked in the Association of Tennis Professionals top 10 at year-end from 2002 through 2009 consecutively. Roddick is known for his extremely powerful serves and holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 155 mph (249.5 km/h).

 

Roddick is the last american male player to win a grand slam singles event (the 2003 US Open). He is married to Brooklyn Decker, a Sports Illustrated swim wear model and actress. Playing Style Roddick's serve is known for its power, usually serving at around 130–150 mph (209~242 km/h), which he uses to earn free points with aces and unreturnable serves.

 

His first serve is known to some as the "Roddick Serve" since he abbreviates the serve by removing part of the motion. He usually targets the two corners to win aces. As for his second serve, he usually employs a heavy kick serve, then tries to use a variety of spins, slices, and angles in the rally to throw off his opponent. He is noted to use heavy topspin on both his serves and his twist serve is probably the highest-kicking serve anyone hits.

 

Roddick will also occasionally use the serve-and-volley tactic on both first and second services to surprise his opponent, though he generally prefers to remain near the baseline after a serve. He has developed a more all-court playing style compared to the aggressive baseline style he played with for most of his early career.

 

Under new coach Larry Stefanki, he has been in the fittest shape of his career, as well as developing his volleying skills. Although Roddick's backhand is still a weakness today, it is considered to have improved somewhat in 2009 under Stefanki's guidance.

 

Equipment

Roddick uses a discontinued version of the Babolat Pure Drive, extended to 27.5 inches. The racquet itself is heavily customised with additional weight placed in the head via the use of lead tape. The resulting racquet exhibits a more head heavy balance point and a higher swingweight than the stock model with a higher overall weight, though this is similar to the model he endorses at approximately 12 oz. Modifications of this sort are common for professional players.

 

Roddick's racquets are painted to resemble the Pure Drive Roddick Plus with Cortex in order to market a current model which Babolat sells. The cortex in particular is visibly painted onto the racquet. For marketing purposes Roddick endorses the Pure Drive Roddick GT Plus Cortex Racquet, a signature racquet designed for him by racquet sponsor Babolat, which is slightly heavier (11.9 oz), stiffer (Babolat RDC index 72), and longer (27.5") than the standard Pure Drive Series (11.3 oz, Babolat RDC 71, 27").

 

The racquet is designed for a strong service due to its weight, stiffness, and length. According to Tennis Warehouse, it is the best one for this fundamental. He strings with a custom hybrid (Pro Hurricane Tour + rpm). Roddick's tension varies, but he mostly strings his racquets to a tension of roughly 64 or 65 pounds. Roddick also uses Babolat Propulse II tennis shoes, which are his signature gear.

 

In matches, Roddick wears shirts, shorts, and caps manufactured for him by Lacoste.