Roddick's career ends with Del Potro defeat

Updated September 06, 2012 10:37:11

A tearful Andy Roddick said goodbye to the US Open, New York and his career in an emotional Flushing Meadows fourth-round defeat to Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro.

The 30-year-old, the last American man to win a grand slam title when he won the US Open in 2003, had already said this would be the last tournament of a 12-year career which yielded 32 trophies.

It also brought him the world number one spot, as well as three heart-breaking Wimbledon runner-up finishes, before his prospects at a permanent place at the top table were swept away by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

"I've loved every minute of it - for the first time in my career I'm not sure what to say," said Roddick, who was in tears as was wife Brooklyn in the stands while he addressed the crowd after his 6-7 (7-1), 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 6-4 loss.

"I appreciate your support along the way. I know I certainly haven't made it easy for you at times. The one thing I'm not scared of about retirement are the people that I go home to," he said.

Roddick's farewell on the Arthur Ashe Stadium drew an instant response on Twitter.

"I shed a tear for you. Thank you for all the years of commitment to excellence. Going to miss it," tweeted golf superstar Tiger Woods.

Three-time women's champion Serena Williams tweeted: "@andyroddick I miss my friend already."

Seventh-seeded Del Potro, the champion in 2009, booked a quarter-final date with defending champion Novak Djokovic, the Serbian second seed who advanced 6-4, 6-1, 3-1 when Swiss 18th seed Stanislas Wawrinka retired.

The other side of the draw is likely to have an advantage as these players are already at the semi-finals stages.

Andy Murray reached the last four in the US Open for the second successive year after Marin Cilic squandered a set and 5-1 lead to lose their quarter-final 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 6-0.

Third seed Murray goes on to face either world number one Roger Federer, the five-time champion who beat him in the 2008 final, or Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych for a place in the final.

This was Murray's seventh in eight meetings with 12th-seeded Cilic, whose only victory over the Briton came in the fourth round in New York in 2009 when he raced to a straight-sets triumph.

But after twice serving for the second set, the 23-year-old Cilic's game fell to pieces, being broken in the fifth and seventh games of the third set.

Murray, the Olympic champion and Wimbledon runner-up to Federer this year, was quickly 4-0 ahead in the fourth set as Cilic, who came into the match having spent over three hours more on court than the Scot, wilted.

Murray broke three more times in the fourth set with the Croat winning just four points on his own serve.

Cilic ended the three-hour encounter having won just three more games from 5-1 ahead in the second set.

Djokovic reached his 14th successive grand slam quarter-final in a match held over from Wednesday (AEST) because of rain with the world number two ahead 2-0 in the first set.

Wawrinka had already complained of feeling unwell at the end of the third game of the third set before he called it quits.

"It was a difficult situation for both of us with the rain yesterday. We were here for 10 or 11 hours, warmed-up and then stopped. It was hard to get ready for a match that way," said Djokovic, the 25-year-old Australian Open champion.

Djokovic has reached his sixth successive US Open quarter-final by dropping just 20 games in four rounds.

"I'm happy with my performances. I played well against a quality opponent and I wish him a quick recovery," added the Serb, who played his match in front of just a few hundred fans on the 10,000-capacity Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Wawrinka, who was bidding to reach the quarter-finals for the second time, having made the last eight in 2010, has now lost 19 matches in a row against top-10 players.

Djokovic's fellow Serb, eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic, fresh from a Twitter stir where he reignited the equal prize money row, reached his second successive US Open quarter-final.

Tipsarevic brushed past German 19th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 and goes on to face Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer for a place in the semi-finals.

Tipsarevic won the last time he met Ferrer at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

"He is definitely a bulldog, I will tell you that. He runs down balls which maybe only Rafa can make from all the guys on tour," said the Serb.

AFP

Tags: sport, tennis, united-states

First posted September 06, 2012 07:58:18

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Tomic denies tanking in Roddick defeat

Updated September 01, 2012 17:22:38

Bernard Tomic admitted to suffering stage fright but denied not trying after suffering a humbling three-set belting at the hands of home hero Andy Roddick at the US Open in New York.

Tennis great John McEnroe accused Tomic of not having a genuine go in the final set of his 6-3,6-4, 6-0 second-round defeat on Saturday (AEST).

"Tomic is teeing it up. It looks like the tank job," McEnroe said while commentating on prime-time TV in America.

"This is a shame. You don't like to see this. I like to see Andy win but, other than that, it's poor."

When Roddick closed out the 22-minute final set - in which Tomic won only five points - with an ace, McEnroe added: "A well-deserved beating."

Tomic, though, insisted he was simply overwhelmed by the occasion.

The 19-year-old was playing in the sold-out Arthur Ashe Stadium - the world's largest tennis arena which seats 22,500 spectators - for the first time and on the night after Roddick announced his retirement.

"I was a bit nervous the first set. It's very difficult the first time to be in front of 22,000 people," Tomic said.

"It's very different. A different feeling playing on the back courts than playing on the biggest stage in the world, biggest country in the world.

"I wasn't looking up, that's for sure. More I looked up, the more I realised how much people were there."

Tomic felt Roddick was untouchable.

"I couldn't get the racquet on the ball," he said.

"Andy was playing, I think, really good at the net, coming into the net.

"Every time I wanted to pass him, he ended up hitting a half-volley winner or a volley winner.

"He was on top of me the whole match. I can't complain. The whole match was his way from start to finish pretty much."

The 19-year-old reacted angrily when asked about McEnroe's tanking allegation.

"Really? What do you think?" Tomic asked his inquisitor.

"That's how I play. Do you have a problem with that?"

He maintained it was merely a suffocating experience.

"To play one of the biggest players in America, I was thinking about it too much leading into the match," Tomic said.

"He was serving well. So I just couldn't find my way to get out of that little zone.

"I feel like I needed to hit 10 minutes on the court. It's difficult. The top seeds always get the opportunity to hit on that court.

"Yeah, this is his home city where he plays the best. I wasn't quite comfortable I think the whole match on that court. It was very strange."

Roddick, the 2003 champion and one-time world number one, next meets Italian Fabio Fognini for a spot in the last 16.

"I'm going to look forward to it and I'm going to try and stick around a bit longer," Roddick said.

"Oh man, that was so much fun."

AAP

Tags: tennis, sport, australia, united-states

First posted September 01, 2012 17:22:38

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Nadal 'happy' with Open defeat

Updated January 30, 2012 07:12:07

Rafael Nadal says the Australian Open final was one of the best losses of his career after he went down fighting in an almost six-hour epic against Novak Djokovic.

In a dramatic finale to the year's first major, Djokovic outlasted Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5 in five hours and 53 minutes, the longest grand slam final in history.

The match started on Sunday evening and finished in the early hours of Monday morning as the world's two best players battled to a standstill in front of a disbelieving crowd.

"Physically it was the toughest match I ever played," Nadal said.

"I think we played a great tennis match. It was I think a very good show in my opinion.

"I enjoyed being part of this event and this match. That's the truth.

"I wanted to win, but I am happy about how I did. I had my chances against the best player in the world today."

Nadal says he is pleased he had been able to match Djokovic physically and mentally, something he had not been able to do in 2011 when the Serb beat him six times in succession.

"I didn't play at a lower level than him for a long time (tonight), so that's a very positive thing for me," he said.

"I am very happy about my mentality tonight."

The Spaniard was also upbeat about his performance throughout the entire tournament, saying it bodes well for a successful 2012.

"[I'm] very happy with my level during both weeks. I realise the whole tournament I did well. I did a lot of very positive things, much more than in 2011 for most of the time," he said.

"I played more aggressive. I played more winners than ever. My serve worked well. The mentality and the passion were there [better than ever].

"So that's very positive aspects on the whole game. So I just lost the final of a grand slam.

"I am not happy to lose the final, yes, but that's one of the losses that I am happy with in my career."

Nadal's defeat in Melbourne was in stark contrast to his classic five-set win over Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2008, when the Spaniard won 9-7 in the fifth set.

"For me it was a little bit more special in 2008," he said with a smile.

"But I really understand that this was a really special match, and probably a match that's going to be in my mind, not because I lost, no, because the way that we played."

Fighting spirit

After appearing out for the count after the third set, Nadal somehow came back to win the fourth and then opened a 4-2 lead in the fifth.

He then had a simple backhand passing shot that would have taken him to 40-15 and on the verge of 5-2, but he missed and Djokovic broke back.

"It's true I had a big mistake with 30-15, but it's not the moment to think about that," Nadal said.

"That's just another moment in an almost six-hour match. Forget about that, knowing that I had very real chances to have the title and to win against a player who I lost to six times last year.

"I never put him in this situation during 2011, so that's another positive thing for me. I didn't have mental problems today against him.

"So that's another positive thing. I've probably never said that many positive things after I lose."

AFP

Tags: tennis, sport, australian-open, melbourne-3000

First posted January 30, 2012 07:06:58

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Stosur's year over after semi-final defeat

Updated October 30, 2011 07:24:14

Samantha Stosur's run at the season-ending WTA Championships has come to a halt at the hands of big-hitting Petra Kvitova in Istanbul.

The reigning Wimbledon champion rallied from a set down to defeat Stosur 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in just over two hours in a gripping semi-final encounter at the Sinan Erdem Arena.

World number three Kvitova, undefeated indoors this year in 18 matches, will play Victoria Azarenka in Sunday's title decider in a rematch of their semi-final at the All England Club this year.

Azarenka easily accounted for Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-3 in the other semi-final.

Stosur did well to withstand an early barrage from Kvitova to win the opening set but the US Open champion was eventually worn down by the lanky left-hander's power hitting.

The Australian picks up $345,000 for her work this week before a well-deserved three-week break ahead of the Australian summer.

Stosur ends the year as world number six for the second straight campaign.

However the Queenslander is a much more content figure these days following her Flushing Meadows success.

She was not too disheartened by her defeat to Kvitova, having at least claimed a set off her in their third meeting.

"This was definitely my best match against her so far," Stosur.

"I guess that's pleasing.

"At least I was able to come off the court knowing that I did everything I could.

"I got beaten by a player who played very well today. I'm happy with the way I played."

While many of her rivals limped to the finishing line at the end-of-season tournament, Stosur was hungry for the new season to start.

"It was the same thing last year, I got to the Championships and felt like I started playing really well again, almost didn't want to stop," she said.

"Now I could probably say the same thing now, but obviously it's been a long year and you always look forward to that break.

"But certainly it's now makes you eager to do that training and get into the next year."

Stosur entered the contest having lost her two previous matches against Kvitova in straight sets.

Standing a full four inches taller than the Australian, the left-hander dominated the opening exchanges in the indoor arena but Stosur battled to stay in touch.

At 3-4 and 0-40 down, the Australian pounced and then broke Kvitova for a second time in the 12th game to claim the set.

Kvitova rebounded to crack Stosur's serve in the third game of the second set and the Australian found it difficult to contain her opponent's thumping ground strokes.

After collecting the second set, Kvitova looked like cruising through the final set.

At 5-0 down and in danger of not getting on the board in the final set, Stosur gritted her teeth and pulled back three games before Kvitova sealed the win.

AAP

Tags: tennis, sport, turkey, australia

First posted October 30, 2011 07:22:09

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Stosur happy despite semis defeat

Updated June 18, 2011 23:27:00

Samantha Stosur's run at the pre-Wimbledon warm-up event in Eastbourne has come to an end at the hands for Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli.

The former Wimbledon finalist handled the difficult conditions much better than the Australian on the English south coast, winning 6-3, 6-1.

In wild winds, Stosur struggled to find any rhythm in her game and eventually succumbed in 70 minutes on centre court.

Her normally lethal serve was off in the gusty conditions, winning just 56 per cent of points on her first serve.

Bartoli then later went on to defeat Petra Kvitova 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 in the final to claim the first grasscourt title of her career.

Kvitova had progressed after Daniela Hantuchova retired at 7-6 (9-7), 4-2 down.

It was world number 10 Stosur's third semi-final appearance at Devonshire Park, and she had shown encouraging signs before Wimbledon in her opening three rounds, defeating world number three Vera Zvonareva on Thursday.

The Queenslander's attention will turn fully to Wimbledon, where she will meet unheralded Hungarian Melinda Czink in the opening round.

Stosur has never progressed beyond the third round in eight visits at the famed grand slam tournament.

"It's been a really good week for me in spite of this match," Stosur said.

"I'm going into Wimbledon feeling quite good.

"I think I played some really good tennis here and got through some really good matches.

"It's been pretty much been exactly what I would want going into Wimbledon.

"I thought the other day when I played Vera it was the worst [conditions] I'd ever played in, but I think today was even worse than that.

"It definitely wasn't easy at all. It's one of those days where you've just got to try hard and do whatever you can to get through because it's very hard to try and hit the shots that you want."

-AAP

Tags: sport, tennis, australia, united-kingdom, england

First posted June 18, 2011 23:00:00

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Schiavone rues final defeat

Published:Sunday, June 5, 2011 8:45 AEST

A dejected Francesca Schiavone of Italy looks on during the women's singles final match against Li Na of China on day fourteen of the French Open at Roland Garros on June 4, 2011.

Tags: sport, tennis, france

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