The Twisted Logic of Andy Roddick

There is a certain irony about individual events at the Olympics. On the one hand, each event is about the individual glory of the participant, on the other, if they win a medal, they boost their nation up the ever-important medal count rankings and they get lumped in with the rest of the winners. Some nations send so few athletes and win so few medals that national glory IS individual glory. For countries like the United States, Russia and China participants in events like “50 meter rifle prone” (Congratulations, Matthew Emmons!) tend to get lost in shadow of the more popular sports (Basketball, Track, Gymnastics) or more media-friendly events like swimming and its figurehead Michael Phelps.

While major tennis events are reasonably well viewed in the US, Olympic tennis matches are usually passed over for shorter, more exciting events like the 200 m Butterfly or 10 m platform diving. So, maybe it’s ok that Andy Roddick won’t be competing for the US in Beijing this summer. Most Americans couldn’t even name the members of our Olympic tennis squad anyway, but then again, how many could name the winner of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. For that matter, how many Americans knew there was a tournament called the Legg Mason Classic? But its not about the glory for Andy Roddick, its about his goals.

According to a statement released by the tournament organizers and picked up by ESPN  Roddick says “My goal every summer is to win the U.S. Open…I have won the Legg Mason Tennis Classic three times and feel defending my title in Washington best prepares me for another Grand Slam title." Never mind that Roddick won the tournament in 2001, 2005 and 2007, and won the US Open exactly none of those years, never even advancing past the quarterfinals. It just doesn’t seem like the Legg Mason is the best preparation, if success there doesn’t translate into success at the US Open. The competition there just isn’t on par with the level at the US Open. This comes as no surprise, the US Open is tennis’ final major of the year, and the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, while an important tournament, is not. If Roddick really wanted to gage his competition on the eve of his most important tournament of the year, he should be playing against world-class competition, the kind he would face at the Olympics.


In the end, Roddick’s decision is his own, forcing him to play would be an act of totalitarianism and would certainly tarnish not only any accomplishment he might have, but also the entire US presence at the games. Andy Roddick is a free agent and he has chosen to play in DC rather than Beijing. That said, his choice to pursue his own interests over the chance to win gold for his country is puzzling. Perhaps he has no special love for the US, perhaps he is very susceptible to jet lag and is worried he won’t be back on Eastern Time when the Open begins. There is any number of reasons that Roddick could have trotted out, but he chose the one that makes the least sense: by playing in a second-rate tournament, he has a better chance of winning a first rate-one.

As noted in the article, Roddick did play at the 2004 games, and entered as the second seed, highest of the four Americans who qualified. He finished third amongst the four and told the media that he took the loss to heart. Roddick’s candor is refreshing in a world of platitudes, but it also gives reason to believe that his absence in 2008 might have something to do with being disappointed and embarrassed after the 2004 games. Whatever his reason, it certainly makes one wonder why most of the world sends their absolute best, but Andy Roddick won’t show.