Larry Brown Sports

Andy Roddick beat Julien Benneteau in the third round of the U.S. Open Sunday. He must have truly been in the zone because he sat in his opponent’s chair during a side change without even realizing it. Roddick was so embarrassed by the gaffe that he dropped a faint S-bomb upon realizing it:

You know what the strange thing was? That was in the middle of the third set. Guess he’s getting a little absentminded — not to mention ornery — in his old age.

Thanks to On the Go Tennis and Beyond the Baseline for the video

Andy Roddick had some serious problems during his first-round match at the Western and Southern Open Monday night.  During his second set against Phillip Kohlschreiber, Roddick went John McEnroe and broke his racquet in frustration.  His frustration built even more when he double faulted in the deciding set, and his actions resulted in a penalty point that cost him the game.  Check out the video of Andy Roddick smashing a ball into the stands, courtesy of Busted Racquet:

Listening to Andy plead his case is definitely the best part of the video. Umpire Carlos Bernardes made the call he had to make and Roddick knew it, but he had to say something. Even the “whoaaa” from the crowd is enough to know he shouldn’t have done it.  That’s not the first time we’ve seen him blow up on an official, so it isn’t really surprising.  However, I bet when you get to go home to this at the end of the day you can quickly forget any frustrations you might have encountered during your petty tennis match.

Tennis player Andy Roddick has been married to model/actress Brooklyn Decker for over two years. Being married to a covergirl is a dream for many men, but it can also be somewhat uncomfortable. Would you have issues with dudes around the world slobbering over your wife? That wouldn’t be cool with me, but it’s not a problem for Roddick.

Speaking on Jimmy Traina’s Hot Clicks podcast, Roddick was asked if he had any problems with his wife being the object of men’s desire. Roddick gave a logical response.

“If I make the choice to date a swimsuit model, and then I complain about [men looking at her] after the fact, I feel like that’s a little ridiculous,” he reasoned. “You kind of know what you’re getting yourself into. I don’t mind it at all. I’m comfortable in the public eye — I’ve been there for a while myself.

“I’m just happy for her. She’s doing what she loves, she’s kind of gaining a certain amount of success from it right now. She’s kicking butt.”

Roddick came across like an engaging personality during the interview. He says he’d like to get into sports radio after his tennis career, and he proved he is an all-around sports fan. Most importantly, Roddick comes across as a genuine person who is very intelligent. He understands how the media works and his honesty can make him the type of voice people will want to hear. I just don’t understand how he can get along knowing that most men in America are dying for a piece of his wife. That would be difficult for me to digest.

Andy Roddick hit the shot of the year in Memphis Sunday to beat Milos Raonic in the finals of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. In an offensive struggle where service breaks were more rare than a cut of French meat, Roddick laid out on championship point to bring home his first title of 2011 and 30th of his career. Check out this incredible video of Andy Roddick’s diving shot to win the match:

Was that Andy Roddick on a hard court or Mike Cameron diving in the outfield grass for a web gem? We knew the guy was athletic but who knew he had that in him? That shot was all heart right there, and Roddick had the scrapes on his knee and elbow to prove it. Simply spectacular.

Another fun aspect of the shot was that Raonic instantly recognized the historical significance of the shot. During his runner-up speech he said “I think I might be on one of the YouTube’s most-viewed points. I’ll be on the wrong end of the court, but my name will at least be in the description.” Perfectly stated. Easily one of the best shots diving shots this side of Boris Becker at Wimbledon we’ve seen. It was also nice to see an awesome tennis shot that didn’t involve someone going between their legs.

A freak out over a foot fault? Hmm, where have we seen that before. It seems like a common thing in tennis: things aren’t going well for a player so he or she starts taking it out on the judges. Yeah, like that’s really going to help keep you from double faulting on your serve or whacking your ground strokes into the net. Such was the case for Andy Roddick who was down 5-2 in the third set against Janko Tipsarevic on Wednesday night and about to go down two sets to one. Roddick was called for a foot fault, freaked out, and started berating the line judge who made the call. Here’s the Andy Roddick foot fault video to see everything that was going on:

Okay Andy we get it, the ref should have said that your left foot was on the line, not the right, but is that really a reason for berating the ref like that? Not at all. Roddick knows that and will realize he was out of line. As for losing in the second round, well, his only excuse is having mono, because that’s a brutal result for someone with high expectations.

Video Credit: YouTube user FormulaXimanX

A couple of the best athletes in the world in their respective sports got together on Saturday afternoon for a challenge. Tennis player Andy Roddick hit a few balls with Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who then showed him what’s up in the classic playground game of HORSE. The two played in Key Biscayne where Roddick had an off-day for the Sony Ericsson Open and where Wade was also off in preparation for his game Sunday against the Raptors in Miami. Wade said he hadn’t handled a tennis racket since high school. Judging by the looks of things, I would have guessed kindergarten. He also let Roddick get up H-O-R to H in the basketball session before resorting to athletic moves to win it. Check out the video of Andy Roddick and Dwyane Wade playing tennis and HORSE:

Pete Sampras was always lauded for his ability to dunk and as we can see Roddick is a pretty good athlete too. Though they get overlooked because tennis is not a contact sport, many of these players are outstanding athletes. Obviously Wade is an awesome athlete too, it’s just that tennis is much harder to pick up without much practice. Especially when you’re being asked to return Roddick’s ridiculous serve.

Sources:
Andy Roddick to play doubles for Chilean earthquake relief at Sony Ericsson Open [The Miami Herald]

Much like the Snoop Dogg/David Beckham relationship, I have a tough time grasping this one. Word on the street is that tennis player Andy Roddick and football player Terrell Owens are boys. Apparently T.O. was even in attendance at the Sony Ericsson Open to watch Roddick play this week. The two took turns complimenting one another to the media:

“I wish a lot of the public saw what I saw,” Roddick said Wednesday after a morning practice. “He’s a pretty friendly guy, he’ll meet people — friends of mine — who he doesn’t really even know, and he’s nothing but nice and sweet to them. I wish the public saw a little bit more of that side of him.”
…
[Owens said about Roddick] “He’s on the cusp of really being that No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 guy. If he keeps pushing, letting the games come to him and try not to press so much during the matches, he’ll win. He just has to keep his focus.”

Oh Andy, we sure did get a glimpse of that T.O., in case you have forgotten. I even fell for it. And apparently the two met through a personal trainer. So while Roger Federer enjoys mutual admiration with Tiger Woods, Andy Roddick’s crossover companion is Terrell Owens. Yeah, exactly.