Roddick not alone in race for No. 1
UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- For 75 consecutive weeks, from Nov. 19, 2000 to April 27, 2003, the gold ring belonged to Australia's Lleyton Hewitt.
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UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- How pumped up was Andy Roddick on Friday to play his Davis Cup match?
Well, he cranked his second serve of the match at 150 miles an hour. Unfortunately for Roddick, it was called out. The 21-year-old American later authored a second 150 mile-an-hour offering into Austria's Stefan Koubek's body -- to finish the eighth and final game of the first set -- making it the fastest official serve ever recorded. Ever. The amazing thing? Koubek actually got his racket on the ball. Nationalism, apparently, is a powerful force. And you thought The Terminator came from Austria? "I opened up with a buck-fifty," Roddick said. "I thought, 'That's out of the ordinary, I guess.' I missed it, so that one goes out the door. After that, I thought it might happen, but at the end of the day the thing that matters is serving stats that say I didn't get broken. "That's the one that I will take any day." Almost as a footnote, Roddick won the match over Koubek, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. As a result, the United States took a 2-0 lead over Austria before a crowd of 5,143 at the Mohegan Sun. As Roddick pointed out, his service game was flawless. He served 14 games and won them all. Koubek earned four break points but failed to convert a single one. "I was confident that if I stayed the course and played my game that would win today," Roddick said. "But I felt like he was getting the better of me, more baseline rallies, than I would have liked. "But my serve got me out of trouble. It was my wildcard today and that kind of was the difference, I think." Roddick shared the previous record, 149 miles an hour, with Greg Rusedski. Last June, Roddick blistered that ace at Queen's Club in London. Rusedski did it at Indian Wells in 1998. Those serves were likely captured by the IDS radar system often employed by the ATP. The Davis Cup radar gun is manufactured by Wige Data, but according to ATP officials, the record is official.
Roddick led the ATP with 989 aces last year, 127 more than second-place mark Philippoussis. Against Koubek, he had 19.
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Then, on the day before his 33rd birthday, Andre Agassi returned as the king, becoming the oldest player to be ranked No. 1 in the ATP singles entry rankings. Hewitt got it back for another two weeks before Agassi deposed him for the summer. Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero, a regal player himself, assumed the throne for an eight-week run after winning the French Open and reaching the finals of the U.S. Open. Andy Roddick, who beat Ferrero in that Flushing, N.Y., finale, became the No. 1 player last November. Roddick, 21, was the youngest American man to finish the year at No. 1.
When he was bounced out of the Australian Open following a surprising loss to Marat Safin, the No. 1 ranking was destined to change hands again. It was claimed on Feb. 2 by Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, who dispatched Safin in the Aussie final for his second Grand Slam title.
That's five crowned heads in less than 10 months, and three first-time No. 1s in a span of less than five months. Federer became the 23rd man in the 31-year history of the rankings to achieve the No. 1 position. It could be quite a while before we see No. 24.
"Obviously," Roddick remarked after the loss to Safin, "it's a nice number to have. But I have 11 months to try to get it back. It's going to be jumping around this year. That's what makes it exciting."
Roddick is in Connecticut this week, leading the U.S. Davis Cup team in its first-round tie with Austria. On Friday, he dismantled Stefan Koubek 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to give the Americans a 2-0 lead going into Saturday's doubles match (ESPN2, noon ET). Earlier, Robby Ginepri won his first Davis Cup match 6-7 (6), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
A victory here would likely mean a trip to Australia for a quarterfinal clash in April. Already, Roddick is warming to the task of carrying his country's team. He is 9-3 in Davis Cup and has never lost a match indoors, where he is 6-0.
"There's nothing quite like playing for your country," Roddick said Tuesday. "I think it's a lot easier to play a big match in a Grand Slam than it is to play a big match in Davis Cup, and it's still something I'm learning about. The more I get out there, the more chances I get, the better I will get in this situation. So, I'm excited to go out there this weekend."
Despite his youth, Roddick, who is 21, is the veteran of the team.
"Obviously, our captain is our team leader," Roddick said Friday, "but ... this is my fifth year being at Davis Cup matches, as scary as that is, you know, I kind of do feel like the elder statesmen of our team now as far as Davis Cup ties played in."
"He's an old hag now," U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe chimed in.
"Over the hill, former No. 1, and all," Roddick said. "It's all downhill."
"Really, on the downside," McEnroe added.
If this is the downside, Roddick is not alone. In fact, it's starting to look like Federer, 22, and Ferrero -- who turns 24 next week -- will joust with Roddick for the world No. 1 for the foreseeable future. The early returns suggest the trio could have some staying power:
The Safin match in Melbourne was terrific theater. On the night of his 24th birthday, he lost the first set to Roddick, then settled in for a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (0), 6-4 victory at Rod Laver Arena. Safin, the 2000 U.S. Open champion, played only 23 matches last year -- winning 12 -- because of a wrist injury. The Russian seems to have rediscovered himself, which means Roddick has another competitor for the top spot.
"A phenomenal match," McEnroe said. "Safin is a guy who destroyed Pete Sampras in the [U.S. Open] finals when Sampras was still Sampras. Roddick had an opportunity to break in the fifth, which he didn't take. Believe me, there's nothing wrong with Andy Roddick.
"He's realizes when he's playing someone that's at his highest level there are still some things that he, Andy Roddick, needs to do better. Hit his backhand better, get into the net at the right times a little bit more ... so I'm not worried one bit about Andy Roddick."
He has come so far, so furiously fast. Roddick became the second-youngest No. 1 player, after Hewitt, and his leap from No. 10 the year before was the biggest ever to the top spot. He won six titles on three different surfaces and was the only player to reach the semifinals or better at three of the four Grand Slams. After losing in the first round of the French Open, he fired longtime coach Tarik Benhabiles. After compiling a record of 25-11 under Benhabiles, Roddick was 47-8 under Gilbert, who is bringing sophistication to his game.
Roddick. Federer. Ferrero. Their future is now and, in the ephemeral world of professional tennis, seemingly forever.
"That's what's so exciting about men's tennis right now," McEnroe said. "Throw Hewitt in there, and Safin, who played at an extraordinary level. And then you have young (Rafael) Nadal and some other young guys will arrive. Those three (Roddick, Federer, Ferrero) certainly are the front-runners. Going into the French, Ferrero is probably the favorite, Federer at Wimbledon, Roddick in the U.S. Open. All those guys can play on all those surfaces.
"Ferrero has played well on hard courts, Federer, with his confidence, you have to think he is on the verge. These guys seem really driven and want to push each other. You see it with Roddick, a different mentality. Right after the loss to Safin, he was talking about what he's got to improve in his game. That's refreshing.
"It's a cool and exciting time."
Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
