Andy Roddick :biography

Nickname(s): A-Rod
Country: United States
Residence: Austin, Texas
Date of birth: August 30, 1982 (1982-08-30) (age 27)
Place of birth: Omaha, Nebraska
Height: 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight: 88.6 kilograms (195 lb)
Turned pro: 2000
Plays: Right-handed; two-handed backhand
Career prize money: $16,912,084
Singles
Career record: 507–162 (76.1%)
Career titles: 27
Highest ranking: No. 1 (November 3, 2003)
Current ranking: No. 6 (November 9, 2009)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open: SF (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009)
French Open: 4R (2009)
Wimbledon: F (2004, 2005, 2009)
US Open: W (2003)
Major tournaments
Tour Finals: SF (2003, 2004, 2007)
Doubles
Career record: 58–38
Career titles: 4
Highest ranking: No. 52 (November 23, 2009)
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open: 1R (2001)
Wimbledon: 1R (2001)
US Open: 2R (1999, 2000)

Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. His best surfaces are hard court and grass.
He is the top-ranked American player and the only male American inside the top 10. He became a Grand Slam singles champion when he won the title at the 2003 US Open. 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. Roddick is known for his powerful serves and holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 155 mph (249.5 km/h).
Roddick has been on the United States Davis Cup team for several years, helping the US win the 2007 Davis Cup, the first win by the US since 1995.

Personal life:
Roddick was born in Omaha, Nebraska to Jerry and Blanche Roddick. Roddick's father was a businessman and his mother was a school teacher. She now directs the Andy Roddick Foundation. Roddick has two older brothers, Lawrence and John (All-American tennis player at University of Georgia (1996-98) and head tennis coach at the University of Oklahoma), who were both promising tennis players at a young age.
Roddick lived in Austin, Texas, from age 4 until he was 11, then moved to Boca Raton, Florida in the interest of his brother John's tennis career, where he lived, first attending Boca Prep International School which Mardy Fish and later Jesse Levine also attended, until graduating from Highlands Christian Academy in 2000. Roddick played varsity basketball in high school alongside Davis Cup teammate Mardy Fish, who trained and lived with Roddick in 1999. During that time period, he sometimes trained with Venus and Serena Williams; he later moved back to Austin.
Roddick began dating singer Mandy Moore in 2002. Moore, after reading a magazine article about him, thought he was "really cute," so she sent her mother, who was attending a tournament in Toronto, to invite him to her set on a movie she was shooting nearby, How to Deal. Roddick accepted and they began dating. Roddick ended the relationship in March 2004.
While flipping through the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Roddick spotted Brooklyn Decker, a fashion model. He had his agent contact her. The two dated since at least the 2007 Davis Cup. On March 31, 2008, Roddick announced on his website that he and Decker had become engaged and they were then married in Austin on April 17, 2009.

Nicknames and on-court behavior:
Roddick is often called "A-Rod," referring to his first initial and the first three letters of his last name, and a reference to baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez who already has that nickname.
Roddick is known for frequent outbursts against umpires on the court. His most famous quote is to umpire Emmanuel Joseph in his Australian Open 2008 match: "You're an idiot! Stay in school kids, or you'll end up being an umpire."

Andy Roddick :career

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 12oz. Modifications of this sort are not uncommon for professional players.
Roddick's racquets are painted to resemble the Pure Drive Roddick Plus with Cortex racquet 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 + VS). 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.

Playing style:
Roddick is known for his powerful first serve, 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. Despite all this, Roddick is sometimes criticized for his lack of variety; however, 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. Roddick's backhand is also considered to have improved over the course of his career.

Media appearances:
On April 5, 2002, Roddick guest-starred on the television show Sabrina, the Teenage Witch as himself. In the episode, Sabrina summoned him so he could give her tennis lessons.
Roddick appeared on the The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn talk show in 2002 and 2003, Late Show with David Letterman in 2003 and 2009, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and Live with Regis and Kathie Lee in 2003, Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2004 and 2005, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2005 and 2007, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2006. Roddick also appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on June 8, 2007. The two had humorous conversations about life beyond the court, other players, and on-court fashions. At one point during the interview, Ross sat on Roddick's lap to try to make him feel uncomfortable.
Roddick hosted Saturday Night Live on November 8, 2003, becoming the second professional tennis player to host (Chris Evert being the first).
Roddick also appeared on a 2004 episode of the Anne Robinson Version of The Weakest Link, but ended up being voted off.
Roddick is in a This is SportsCenter ad with Stuart Scott, in which he confronts the Sports Center anchor about the anchors not calling him "A-Rod," and asks him "Did Alex Rodriguez put you up to this?" Scott replies "Who?" Roddick says "A-Rod!" Scott gets a sneaky look on his face, and Roddick leaves disgusted.
The June/Julyissue of Men's Fitness magazine carried an article on Roddick. The cover shot featured the tennis ace in a t-shirt, straining to contain massive, pumped-up biceps and hulking shoulder and chest muscles. The image set off widespread online speculation that the magazine had altered Roddick's likeness, a suspicion echoed by Roddick himself. Roddick has quipped that he saw the photo, and that Nadal wanted his arms back.
In March 2009, Andy Roddick appeared in the "Speed Feels Better" music video for singer/songwriter Michael Tolcher. Other athletes in the video included Amanda Beard, Barry Sanders, Kimmie Meissner, and Rick Ankiel.
In August 2009 Roddick once again appeared on Late Show with David Letterman.

Awards and record serve:
In 2004, Roddick produced the fastest serve in professional tennis: 249.5 km/h (155 mph) during a Davis Cup semi-final match with Vladimir Voltchkov on hard court in Charleston. Earlier that year, Roddick had the fastest serve in U.S. Open history: 244 km/h (152 mph) against American Scoville Jenkins. Roddick also won the 2004 ESPY Award for Best Male Tennis Player.
That same year he won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award of the Year because of his charity efforts, which included: raising money for the survivors of the tsunami following 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake through Serving for Tsunami Relief and other efforts; auctioning off several rackets and autographs to raise money for UNICEF; and creating the Andy Roddick Foundation to help at-risk youth. The foundation is partly funded through the sale of blue wristbands inscribed "No Compromise," inspired by Lance Armstrong's yellow Livestrong wristbands.
In 2007 Roddick and the Andy Roddick Foundation was awarded by the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health. Roddick was the first male tennis player ever to receive the award.

Success in Asia:
Roddick captured his 26th ATP title in Beijing at the China Open on September 28, 2008. He defeated Dudi Sela of Israel, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3. The victory was part of Roddick's strong showing in Asia, as he reached the semifinal round of the AIG Japan Open where he lost to eventual champion Tomáš Berdych after squandering a 5-3 lead in the third and deciding set. In the third round of the Madrid Masters he lost to Frenchman Gaël Monfils in three sets 4-6, 6-3, 3-6. Two weeks later, Roddick reached the quarterfinals of Paris Masters by defeating Frenchman Gilles Simon, 6-3, 7-5, before losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Due to his performance in the tournament, Roddick automatically qualified for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup. At the Masters Cup in Shanghai, he played Andy Murray in his first round robin match and lost 4-6, 6-1, 1-6. He was then scheduled to play Federer, but retired due to an ankle injury and was replaced by Štěpánek.

Davis Cup:
With his 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 win over Paul-Henri Mathieu on April 13, 2008, for the deciding victory in the best-of-five 2008 quarterfinal Davis Cup match with France, Roddick improved to 10-0 in clinching situations for the United States. In his second singles victory in three days, he was held to 17 aces, down from 30 against Michael Llodra a few days prior. Roddick improved to 31-11 for the US in Davis Cup matches, trailing only John McEnroe (41). His win against the 12th-ranked Mathieu was part of a strong month in which he beat the tour's top three players—Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic.