Andy Roddick announced his retirement on Thursday, saying his tennis career will close at the U.S. Open, the site of his biggest triumph.
The 2003 champion at Flushing Meadows and former No. 1-ranked player decided to walk away from the sport whenever his U.S. Open ends, making the surprise announcement at a news conference on Thursday, his 30th birthday.
"I'll make this short and sweet: I've decided that this is going to be my last tournament," said Roddick."I think I wanted an opportunity to say goodbye to people, as well," Roddick said during the press conference. "I don't know how tomorrow's going to go, and I hope it goes well, and I'm sticking around."
As noted by Matt Cronin of Tennis.com, Roddick has won two small tournaments this season but fared poorly at the larger tournaments. Novak Djokovic throttled him in the second round at the London 2012 Olympics just weeks after coming up short against David Ferrer in the third round at Wimbledon.
During the press conference to announce his impending retirement, Roddick referred back to his thoughts at the All-England club after that loss to Ferrer.
"Walking off at Wimbledon I felt like I knew. I couldn't imagine myself being there another year," Roddick revealed.“A number is a number,“ he said. “But I think wear and tear and miles is something that’s not really an age thing. If you look at my contemporaries that started with me, Roger (Federer) is the only one that’s still going and still going strong.
“It’s a matter of how I feel. I feel like I’m able to compete at the highest level.
“Frankly, these guys have gotten really, really, really good. I’m not sure that with compromised health that I can do what I want to do right now.“
Few would have guessed after Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003 that he would never win another major title. But his best chances were always thwarted by Federer, the Wimbledon master.
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