Roddick leaves his mark on Wimbledon

By Clay Allen Sports Central Columnist

Andy Roddick saw his Wimbledon hopes dashed on Friday as Goran Ivanisevic blew three consecutive aces past him, bringing his total on the day to forty-one.

Roddick, who used his own lethal serve to propel him to number thirty-three in the ATP rankings this year, was no match for the resurgent Ivanisevic. The Croatian's 79 percent first-serve percentage frustrated and baffled Roddick, who managed to win only one set.

Roddick admitted afterward, "It's tough. I mean, when you don't feel like you even have a chance in return games, you know, you're pretty helpless. It's not fun."

The 18-year-old American sensation burst onto the scene in March after defeating Pete Sampras at the Ericsson Open. It was clearly a changing of the guards for the two players. As Roddick advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament, Sampras was inducted into the tournament Hall of Fame -- usually the culminating mark of a player's career.

Roddick followed his Ericsson success with two clay-court tournament victories in the spring and entered the French Open with the tour's best record on clay. There he faced former French Open Champion Michael Chang, who has been attempting to regain the top form that took him to a career-best number two in the world in 1997.

Roddick sent Chang a retirement message, as well.

The five-set match was eerily reminiscent of Chang's semifinal bout against Ivan Lendl in the semifinals of Roland Garros more than a decade earlier. Roddick dramatically fought off cramps and a persistent Chang to claim a win over another former champion in five sets.

But after facing and defeating Sampras and Chang at two of their favorite tournaments and upsetting the eleventh seed at this year's Wimbledon, Roddick drew three-time Wimbledon finalist Goran Ivanisevic.

A-Rod spent two awkward weeks at warm-up tournaments on the grass, but seemed to have found his form after two resounding victories in the early rounds of Wimbledon.

However, Roddick was no match for the former world number two and showed his frustration on the court. Roddick entered the match as the sentimental favorite, but did not expect the Croatian's comeback to be so successful, so overpowering.

At the net after the match, Roddick told Ivanisevic, "That was impressive. I'm cheering for you the rest of the way," a compliment typically reserved for champions upset by younger players. With the unintended role reversal, Roddick implied that Ivanisevic's career is fading. His comeback effort was admirable, but would soon yield to Roddick's era.

When asked about becoming an heir to the American throne soon to be abandoned by Sampras and Agassi, Roddick answered simply, "I made it."

Roddick plans to take a few weeks off before playing the summer circuit in North America.

Goran Ivanisevic plays on at Wimbledon.