Miami: A Good Week's Work

Andy Roddick d. Tomas Berdych 75 64

I want to tickle underneath his chin.

Ten years after appearing in the Sony Ericsson Open for the first time at the age of 17, courtesy of a wildcard, Andy Roddick won his second title in Miami after beating Nadal on the way. Nice work. I’ve only seen highlights from the final, but it looks like Roddick did a nice job of keeping Berdych discombobulated and on the back  foot, not really allowing him to build any rhythm.

He may not have been really in the final, but Berdych did brilliantly to get there against the opponents he faced and mastering the trick of actually stringing big wins together. Still, the story is Andy this week. It’s true that with Delpo and Kolya injured and Murray, Djokovic and Federer losing early, the only higher-ranked opponent he faced was Nadal, but with the way Rafa was playing earlier in the week, that was a huge win. And it’s fantastic to see someone who has repeatedly been written off or marginalised proving, once again, that he deserves to be in the conversation.

His pressers, as always, are down to earth and charming, too:

Q. Could you talk a little bit perhaps about the maturing that you’ve undergone? 
ANDY RODDICK:  I get a lot credit.  I’m not that mature.  I get a lot credit for it right now for like the last six months.  I went from the most immature person on the planet to maturity.  I like it. 
 
Q. It’s fairly commendable, though. 
ANDY RODDICK:  Thank you.  Your turn.

[...]

Q. You hadn’t won a Masters Series event since 2006.  Did you ever doubt you could win another one, and is this a big relief for you?
ANDY RODDICK:  There’s always any athlete who says they don’t have a “what if” moment probably isn’t being too honest with you.
I’ve certainly what my share of them throughout the course of my career. You know, I talked about this a lot after Wimbledon last year, but even after ’08 Wimbledon I openly talked to Brook and wondered if the best of it was gone.
I didn’t know. I honestly didn’t know. But I knew there was a way to find out, and that was to kind of go back to the drawing board and give myself every opportunity to succeed. 
Luckily, that’s given me some good days.

[...]

Q.  Given the in past year you’ve been known for your many achievements outside of tennis, do you feel that maybe the fates were with you, that you also won because today is Easter Sunday and we’re in the middle of Passover? 
ANDY RODDICK:  Hadn’t thought about it.  But I’ll take some divine intervention any time it wants to help me out.  I’m not above it.

source

And oh yeah, he also found time this week to appear alongside Gonzo, Jim Courier and Guga Kuerten in a charity exhibition which raised $125,000 for victims of the Chilean earthquake:

So yeah. I think we can call that a full week.