And Now Comes the Hard Part

On His Favorite Surface, Roddick Tries to Dodge the Pressure, Chase a Slam

Andy Roddick, the 2001 and '05 Washington champion, has one Grand Slam title on his résumé, and hopes this tournament can be a precursor to a second. (By Ricky Carioti -- The Washington Post)

Whether NFL cornerbacks, Olympic gymnasts or professional tennis players, the most successful athletes have a knack for taking a bad play, a poor performance or a lousy match and setting it aside. Sports psychologists refer to it as compartmentalizing -- not dwelling on mistakes but erasing the mental slate and plowing ahead with new vigor and a positive outlook.

It's easier said than done, of course. And it would be nice, Andy Roddick joked yesterday, if there were a "delete button for your thoughts," adding, "If you figure out how to do that, let me know."

Until then, Roddick finds himself plowing on after his quarterfinal loss at Wimbledon the only way he knows how: by hitting the American hard-court circuit, where the surface that best suits his game tends to restore whatever confidence the sport's grass-court season saps.

In that regard, Washington's Legg Mason Tennis Classic couldn't come at a finer time, despite the sweltering humidity and heat in store this week.

As the tournament's 2001 and 2005 champion, Roddick said he's happy to be back in friendly environs, having missed last year's event with an injury suffered at a tournament in Los Angeles the week before.

And Legg Mason tournament officials are thrilled to have his star wattage back this summer, particularly after local favorite James Blake bowed out. Other than Roddick, the event has only one player ranked in the top 10 -- Germany's Tommy Haas. Local favorite Paul Goldstein of Rockville returns and opens play tonight against Somdev Dev Varman of India. Former world No. 1 Marat Safin also returns.

Roddick has won just one tournament this year, the grass-court tuneup event at Queens Club prior to Wimbledon. He has two agenda items for his stay in Washington: add to that tournament tally, if possible, and upgrade his game for the U.S. Open, the season's final Grand Slam and his favorite event of the year. Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003 and has been seeking his second major title since.

Roddick said that during the week after his ouster at Wimbledon -- the only week he gets to spend at home each summer -- he couldn't help but brood a bit. He had breezed past his early-round opponents. But suddenly all the momentum he had was interrupted by a deluge of rain that played havoc with the schedule. Pitted against the gifted Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals, Roddick was hitting the ball well until the third set, when the Frenchman started blasting a surreal number of winners. In five sets, Roddick's hopes of a title run were over.

"I didn't wake up the next morning, smiling sunshine and doing a happy dance, that's for sure," said Roddick, 24, when asked how he handled the defeat. "The week later I didn't hit a lot. I had a lot of time to sit around and think and sort through a lot of thoughts, which is normal when you care about something."

It probably didn't help his outlook to choose that particular time of the year to take up a humbling new hobby -- golf. Roddick wondered aloud if he has the patience for the game, confessing he has already tossed his share of clubs in frustration.

As for tennis, the change in surface alone -- from grass court to hard court -- has helped Roddick recharge his batteries.

"It's a new part of the year," he said.

Roddick played his first tournament after Wimbledon last week in Indianapolis with mixed results. He was hitting well early in the event but saw his serve and normally reliable forehand desert him in a semifinal loss to little-known Frank Dancevic of Canada.

According to Roddick, there's no cause for alarm about the state of his game, although he conceded his serve could use a bit of polishing.

"To be honest, I don't put a lot of stock in that last loss at Indy," he said. "I was frustrated on the court, but there were a lot of reasons for that, which I don't feel are too relevant to tomorrow night."

The bigger culprit for his poor showing against Dancevic, Roddick said, was a sour stomach, pointing to the limited healthful dining options in downtown Indianapolis after midnight.

"Unfortunately when you finish a match at 1 o'clock, your choices for food are Steak 'n Shake, Taco Bell -- those are the leading candidates," he said. "Needless to say they were barking at me the next day."

Roddick spent the next day resting and traveled to Washington yesterday morning. Then he worked out at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in preparation for his opening match tonight, when he will face Tomas Zib of the Czech Republic. The two have never met, and Roddick said he's looking forward to a baseline battle with a player known for not beating himself.