That Andy
Roddick's last match as a twentysomething would not be his last match at the 2012 U.S. Open was hardly in doubt Tuesday, especially whenever he was launching that intimidating, tough-tohandle serve of his.
To close the first set: ace at 227 km/h.
To close the second: ace at 216 km/h.
To close the third: ace at 204 km/h.
Yes, even as Roddick's 30th birthday approaches on Thursday, even as his body has succumbed to injury after injury, that serve is pretty much still the same as it ever was. Now that he more frequently faces opponents who grew up cheering for him - such as 21-year-old qualifier Rhyne Williams of Knoxville, Tennessee, the foil for Tuesday's 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory - Roddick knows more than ever he needs to rely on the best thing he's got, and 20 aces helped this time.
"You really don't see that shot," Williams said glowingly about Roddick's serve.
Heading into his Grand Slam debut, the 283rdranked Williams had one primary concern: "I was just hoping he wasn't going to go at me with a serve."
"I'm like, 'Oh, no. Where's he going?' That's the first thing I thought of. Then it was, 'It'll be great. I can play in front of a big crowd.' It was quite an experience," said Williams, the NCAA runner-up for the University of Tennessee last year and a 12-year-old when Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003.
That was the last Grand Slam singles title for an American man, the longest drought in history for a country that produced the likes of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors.
Roddick found himself in an era dominated by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal - and, more recently and to a lesser extent, Novak Djokovic, who began defence of his U.S. Open title by overwhelming 69th-ranked Paolo Lorenzi of Italy 6-1, 6-0, 6-1 on Tuesday night - and while he is without a second major championship for his resume, he kept adapting his game to try to do just that.
Roddick dedicated him-self to stronger fitness. He learned a better backhand. He improved his volleying.
"I saw the way the game was going. You have to get stronger and quicker. I don't think there was much room for a plodder who could hit the ball pretty hard," Roddick said.
Elsewhere, Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., overcame 55 unforced errors including 15 double faults to defeat Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Raonic, the No. 15 seed, earned his 34th victory of the season in a match that lasted well over three hours.
"I'm just happy with the outcome and that I managed to make the most of that moment and just find a way to win," said Raonic. "Everything else I've got to hope gets better."
Following Roddick into Arthur Ashe Stadium was 32-year-old Venus Williams, playing her first U.S. Open match since she pulled out before the second round in 2011 and revealed she had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.
After a shaky start, dropping the first two games, Williams used her own powerful serve to right herself and beat Bethanie MattekSands of the U.S. 6-3, 6-1.
