27/03/2012 11:58 CEST - Rassegna internazionale

Roddick se lo sentiva (Miami Herald)

This is why Andy Roddick sticks around and keeps slugging away, even though he has dropped to No. 34 in the world, even though his lone Grand Slam title was nine years ago, even though skeptics think he doesn’t have the game to beat the big boys anymore.

The big-serving, hard-working American sticks around for moments like 9:50 p.m. Monday, under the lights at the Sony Ericsson Open, when he unleashed a 126-mph serve into the corner on match point to pull off one of the most satisfying upsets of his career against his greatest nemesis, a 7-6 (7-4), 1-6, 6-4 win over No. 3 Roger Federer.

After the match, he pointed to the sky, a tribute to his late agent Ken Meyerson of Miami, who died in October at the age of 48. Roddick said he felt like “a crazy person” because he was “having full dialogues with him the last 30 minutes of the match, so I was just letting him know I heard him.’’

It was just the third time in 24 tries that Roddick beat Federer, and the sellout crowd of 14,278 could tell how much it meant to him. The last time he beat the Swiss was on the same court, in the 2008 quarterfinal.

“I’m never going to catch up to Roger, but I love when I have days like this,” Roddick said on court after the match. “This is why I play. I can understand why Roger had so many fans here, because of all his achievements, and it didn’t matter to me who you were rooting for, I’m just so happy fans are excited about tennis. This was a great atmosphere to play in.”

He later said after spending a day with Federer at a Madison Square Garden exhibition a few weeks ago, he “fully gets”why Federer has such a huge fan base. He was so impressed with how he handles all his obligations. “A few years ago, playing at home as an American, I’d have been [ticked] off when fans cheered for him, but now I get it.”
Federer was equally gracious.

“He’s still very good, and I hope you guys give him more credit than he’s getting at the moment,’’ Federer said of Roddick. “I’m happy to see him play really well. He’s a great champion, and enjoy him while you have him. It was a great night for him and America’s tennis.

“For me it was tough. It was a close match. It just didn’t go my way.’’It was only a third-round match, but it felt like a final. The crowd was electric from the start, roaring when Roddick dug out of a 15-40 hole in the fourth game, and then when he won the first-set tiebreaker. They were equally loud when Federer broke Roddick in the third game of the second set.

Roddick had little time to savor his victory. His fourth round match is Tuesday afternoon against Juan Monaco. “As much as I want to take it in, because obviously these wins are few and far between, I have to come back [Tuesday]. In 2008 I beat Roger and lost to Davydenko in the next round. There’s no script in sports.’’