M13: Andy Roddick’s Point
Andy Roddick is one of the greatest American tennis players in history. Between 2000 and 2012 he was a fixture in grand slam tournaments, tormenting his opponents with his powerful serve and overall athleticism.
In 2005, he was ranked number three in the world, and he had just finished the Australian Open where he made it to the semifinals. His warmup for the French Open was on the red clay courts of the Rome Masters, and he was the favorite. What happened in the round of sixteen would follow him for the rest of his career, and be an inspiration to all kinds of athletes even to this day.
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M13: ANDY RODDICK’S POINT
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN GIVEN TOO MUCH CHANGE BY A CASHIER ON ACCIDENT? DID YOU TELL THEM? WHAT ABOUT SOMETHING MORE SUBTLE, LET’S SAY AT WORK, WHERE YOUR BOSS IS IMPRESSED BY SOMETHING, AND THEY THINK YOU HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT, BUT YOU DIDN’T. IT WOULD BE EASY TO ACCEEPT THE PRAISE AND MOVE ON, SO, I MEAN, IS EVEN WORTH CORRECTING THEM?
WHILE IT’S EASY TO SAY WE’D ALWAYS DO THE RIGHT THING, WHEN IN THE MOMENT, THESE SITUATIONS ARE DIFFICULT. AND AS THE STAKES GET HIGHER, THESE DECISIONS GET MORE CHALLENGING.
PERSONALLY, I’D LIKE TO THINK I ALWAYS DO THE RIGHT THING, BUT IF I’M BEING HONEST, I HAVEN’T BEEN PERFECT.
THIS IS A STORY ABOUT A TENNIS PLAYER WHO, IN 2005, WAS RANKED IN THE TOP FIVE OF ALL TENNIS PLAYERS WORLDWIDE, WHEN HE WAS FACED WITH ONE OF THESE MOMENTS. THE DECISION HE MADE AT A CRITICAL JUNCTURE, IN THE SPIRIT OF PROTECTING FAIR PLAY, AFFECTED THE OUTCOME OF A TOURNAMENT - AND HE’S FORCED TO BE REMINDED OF HIS ACTIONS IN THAT MOMENT EVEN TO THIS DAY.
EPISODE
ANDY RODDICK IS KNOWN AS ONE OF THE GREATEST AMERICAN TENNIS PLAYERS IN HISTORY. DURING HIS CAREER, WHICH SPANNED FROM 2000 – 2012, HE WON 32 TOURNAMENT TITLES, REACHED FIVE GRAND SLAM FINALS, WINNING THE U.S. OPEN IN 2003 AND FOR A PERIOD OF MONTHS, WAS RANKED AS THE NUMBER ONE TENNIS PLAYER IN THE WORLD.
HOWEVER, BY 2005, ANOTHER TENNIS PLAYER, ROGER FEDERER HAD GAINED MOMENTUM AND HAD PROVEN TO BE A DIFFICULT MATCH FOR RODDICK, BEATING HIM IN THE WIMBLEDON FINAL THE YEAR BEFORE.
IT WAS MAY OF 2005, AND AFTER REACHING THE SEMIFINALS IN THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN, RODDICK WAS FOCUSED ON KEEPING UP WITH FEDERER, AND TO DO THAT, HE’D NEED TO MAKE UP GROUND AT THE FRENCH OPEN - ON THE CLAY COURTS OF ROLAND-GARROS.
THE RED CLAY AT THE FRENCH WAS A CHALLENGE FOR RODDICK. HIS POWERFUL SERVE DID WELL ON THE HAR-TRU GREEN CLAY COURTS IN THE U.S., BUT THE FRENCH CLAY WAS SOFTER AND SLOWER, SO IN ORDER TO BETTER PREPARE, HE NEEDED TO PLAY IN A TOURNAMENT ON A SIMILAR SURFACE. HIS PLAN WAS TO HEAD TO ROME IN EARLY MAY TO COMPETE IN THE ITALIAN MASTERS.
NOW RANKED NUMBER THREE IN THE WORLD, RODDICK WAS THE TOP SEED IN THE TOURNAMENT AND AFTER GLIDING THROUGH HIS EARLY ROUNDS, HE FOUND HIMSELF IN THE ROUND OF SIXTEEN VERSUS FERNANDO VERDASCO, THE LEFT-HANDED SPANIARD.
RODDICK GLIDED THROUGH THE FIRST SET AND HE WAS UP 5-3 IN THE SECOND SET OF THE BEST OF THREE MATCH. IT WAS TRIPLE MATCH POINT AND VERDASCO WAS SERVING HIS SECOND SERVE.
THE CROWD WAS SILENT, ANTICIPATING THE INEVITABLE WIN FOR RODDICK. VERDASCO SERVED, AND IT WAS CALLED LONG, PROMPTING THE CROWD TO ERUPT AND THEN STAND AND CLAP AS THE PLAYERS HEADED TO THE NET TO SHAKE HANDS.
HOWEVER, AS HE WALKED, RODDICK’S EYES WERE FIXED ON THE BALL MARK IN THE CLAY FROM THE LAST SERVE. AS HE WALKED CLOSER TO THE NET, HE COULD SEE CLEARLY THAT THE BALL CAUGHT THE LINE. INSTEAD OF A DOUBLE-FAULT AND THE MATCH, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SCORED AN ACE, AND THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN AT 15-40.
WITHOUT HESITATING, RODDICK MENTIONED IT TO THE CHAIR UMPIRE, AND POINTED TO THE MARK, WHICH THE CHAIR UMPIRE QUICKLY CONFIRMED AND CHANGED THE CALL.
THE MATCH CONTINUED.
MIRACULOUSLY, VERDASCO MANAGED TO WIN THE GAME. THEN, SURPRISINGLY, HE CAME BACK AND WON THE SET. AND, AGAINST ALL ODDS, AS IF HE WAS PLAYING LOOSE WITH HOUSE MONEY, HE EVENTUALLY WON THE MATCH.
A POINT AWAY FROM ADVANCING TO THE QUARTERFINALS, ANDY RODDICK WAS SUDDENLY SITTING IN FRONT OF REPORTERS AT A POST-MATCH PRESS CONFERENCE BEING ASKED ABOUT THE LOSS. ONE REPORTER FIXATED ON RODDICK’S DECISION TO ALERT THE UMPIRE, APPLAUDING HIS SPORTSMANSHIP. BUT, RODDICK DOWNPLAYED IT – HE SAID “I DON’T THINK I DID ANYTHING EXTRAORDINARY, THE UMPIRE WOULD HAVE COME DOWN AND SAID THE SAME THING TOO - I JUST SAVED HIM THE TRIP.”
BUT, THAT WASN’T EXACTLY TRUE. THE MATCH HAD ENDED. RODDICK HAD WON. NOTIFYING THE CHAIR UMPIRE WASN’T NECESSARY, BUT IT SHOWED EVERYONE JUST HOW MUCH RODDICK RESPECTED THE GAME, HIS OPPONENT, AND THE NOTION OF FAIR PLAY.
HE WENT ON TO LOSE IN THE 2ND ROUND OF THE FRENCH OPEN A WEEK LATER. ONE MIGHT CONCLUDE THAT A FEW MORE ROUNDS ON THE RED CLAY IN ROME WOULD HAVE BETTER PREPARED HIM, BUT HE WOULD NEVER SAY THAT.
STILL, HE WENT ON TO PLAY ANOTHER 7 YEARS OF PROFESSIONAL TENNIS, MAKING IT TO TWO MORE GRANDSLAM SEMIFINALS, WINNING SEVERAL MORE ATP EVENTS, AND A DAVIS CUP CHAMPIONSHIP.
IN THE INTRO, I MENTIONED HOW ANDY IS REMINDED OF THAT DECISION EVEN NOW. IT’S TRUE. NOT BECAUSE THE LOSS HAUNTS HIM, OR HE IN ANY WAY REGRETS WHAT HE DID – WHAT HAPPENED IN ROME DIDN’T CHANGE WHO HE WAS AS A TENNIS PLAYER.
HE’S REMINDED OF IT BECAUSE PEOPLE WON’T LET HIM FORGET IT. WHEREVER HE GOES, IT INEVITABLY COMES UP. SOMETIMES IT’S AN INTERVIEWER OR A FORMER TENNIS PLAYER…SOMETIMES HE SEES A STORY WRITTEN ABOUT THE EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE, OR WHAT’S MORE COMMON…. A PARENT HAS A CHANCE TO STOP HIM, SHAKE HIS HAND, AND THANK HIM FOR HELPING TEACH THEIR CHILD AN IMPORTANT LESSON IN SPORTSMANSHIP.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bma1NZuo_o4
https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/10-amazing-examples-of-great-sportsmanship.htm
https://www.npr.org/2005/05/11/4647602/in-praise-of-roddick-and-old-fashioned-sportsmanship
https://conantleadership.com/integrity-foundational-leadership/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Roddick_career_statistics