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| Saying Goodbye on His Own Terms | Saying Goodbye on His Own Terms |
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| There was no general manager to summon Andy Roddick into his office to say solemnly, “Son, I’m afraid we’re not going to pick up your option.” No one was about to give him a nudge or a shove out the door. Retirement for a professional tennis player is all personal reflection, that elusive intersection of heart and mind, full understanding that the time has come. | There was no general manager to summon Andy Roddick into his office to say solemnly, “Son, I’m afraid we’re not going to pick up your option.” No one was about to give him a nudge or a shove out the door. Retirement for a professional tennis player is all personal reflection, that elusive intersection of heart and mind, full understanding that the time has come. |
| The only remaining questions are how and when. | The only remaining questions are how and when. |
| A career-long source of sardonic wit that could be endearing or irritating, Roddick might not have seemed the type to need or stage a theatrical exit. Certainly his announcement wasn’t made for the benefit of the news media, which he believes has dwelled too much on who he wasn’t rather than who he has been. | A career-long source of sardonic wit that could be endearing or irritating, Roddick might not have seemed the type to need or stage a theatrical exit. Certainly his announcement wasn’t made for the benefit of the news media, which he believes has dwelled too much on who he wasn’t rather than who he has been. |
| But if we have known anything beyond the obvious about Roddick, it has been his fraternal nature, his abiding friendships with other American players, men’s and women’s. So as Gregarious Andy considered the possibility of losing Friday night to a talented 19-year-old Australian, Bernard Tomic, the reluctant heart sought one last concession from the retiring mind. | But if we have known anything beyond the obvious about Roddick, it has been his fraternal nature, his abiding friendships with other American players, men’s and women’s. So as Gregarious Andy considered the possibility of losing Friday night to a talented 19-year-old Australian, Bernard Tomic, the reluctant heart sought one last concession from the retiring mind. |
| “I just imagine being off the court tomorrow in an empty locker room,” Roddick said in his most poignant admission while declaring this United States Open his farewell tournament Thursday. “I think I wanted a chance to say goodbye.” | “I just imagine being off the court tomorrow in an empty locker room,” Roddick said in his most poignant admission while declaring this United States Open his farewell tournament Thursday. “I think I wanted a chance to say goodbye.” |
| These days, there are texting, Twitter and YouTube for messaging and connectivity, but we get it. At his home country Grand Slam event, the only one at which he triumphed, nine years ago, Roddick decided: why not let a longtime friend like Mardy Fish and a respectful peer like Roger Federer pay tribute? How often during the year does tennis get this much attention? | |
| With the rarest of exceptions, it is virtually impossible to script the perfect sports exit, although Pete Sampras did just that when he defeated Andre Agassi in the 2002 final at Flushing Meadows in what turned out to be Sampras’s last match. Sampras just didn’t know it yet, and as a result the moment was deprived of a more deserved gravitas. | |
| Agassi, Sampras’s career rival but not his equal, managed to turn his preordained goodbye into a tearful melodrama after losing his third-round match on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court to Benjamin Becker in 2006. We would have expected no less from the Las Vegas showman. | |
| But the period doesn’t have to be the most memorable career punctuation. One of my favorite tennis adieu moments occurred in 1989 during Chris Evert’s final summer on tour. Down a service break in the third set to a young Italian, Laura Golarsa, Evert was in danger of losing at Wimbledon — where she was a beloved, three-time champion — in the quarterfinals on Court 1. | But the period doesn’t have to be the most memorable career punctuation. One of my favorite tennis adieu moments occurred in 1989 during Chris Evert’s final summer on tour. Down a service break in the third set to a young Italian, Laura Golarsa, Evert was in danger of losing at Wimbledon — where she was a beloved, three-time champion — in the quarterfinals on Court 1. |
| After a surging Golarsa hit a winning volley, a disconsolate Evert stood motionless in the doubles alley — head bowed, racket dangling at her side — when suddenly a high-pitched voice cried out from the stands a few feet away. | After a surging Golarsa hit a winning volley, a disconsolate Evert stood motionless in the doubles alley — head bowed, racket dangling at her side — when suddenly a high-pitched voice cried out from the stands a few feet away. |
| “Come on, Chrissie.” It was Martina Navratilova, trying to rouse her forever friend and career measuring stick to a proper burial, on Centre Court, against Steffi Graf. With Navratilova leading the cheers, Evert rallied to win. | |
| Discounting a brief return to Wimbledon and the French Open at 47, Navratilova narrowly missed a Sampras-like ending, only predetermined. She just couldn’t muster enough game to take the third set of the 1994 Wimbledon final from Conchita Martinez. Choosing not to play the hardcourt summer, Navratilova left her fans misty-eyed that day by bending down to carry off a small piece of Wimbledon lawn. | |
| Most get neither blades of grass nor a blaze of glory. Some burn out and others fade away. Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati, intense rivals who endured great suffering during bittersweet careers, for years of inactivity could not publicly admit that they were done. | Most get neither blades of grass nor a blaze of glory. Some burn out and others fade away. Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati, intense rivals who endured great suffering during bittersweet careers, for years of inactivity could not publicly admit that they were done. |
| Seles was cheated of her winning prime by the German fan who stabbed her on the court, and after returning from a long absence she had an eating disorder she has since eloquently spoken and written about. Just when Capriati had overcome adolescent demons to fulfill her destiny, injuries sidelined her and sent her spiraling into depression. | Seles was cheated of her winning prime by the German fan who stabbed her on the court, and after returning from a long absence she had an eating disorder she has since eloquently spoken and written about. Just when Capriati had overcome adolescent demons to fulfill her destiny, injuries sidelined her and sent her spiraling into depression. |
| Far more fortunate has been Kim Clijsters, who has now called two retirements, even if Wednesday’s final singles defeat to Laura Robson was on a two-thirds-empty Stadium court. | |
| Roddick could expect the capacity crowd treatment, along with the certainty that his best was behind him, even as injuries contributed to his decline. | |
| “Frankly,” he said, “these guys have gotten really, really, really good.” | “Frankly,” he said, “these guys have gotten really, really, really good.” |
| Most tennis insiders believed that the most bizarre exit of all, Bjorn Borg’s from New York in 1981, was a result of having been surpassed by John McEnroe as the best men’s player. After McEnroe beat him for the Open title, Borg walked to the net, shook hands, picked up his rackets and left without a word, skipping the trophy ceremony. | |
| It was later revealed that Borg had received death threats, which explained his departure from the stadium, not the Grand Slam stage. At 25, he never played another. | It was later revealed that Borg had received death threats, which explained his departure from the stadium, not the Grand Slam stage. At 25, he never played another. |
| Taken in that broader and less-scripted context, Roddick’s retirement seems to be perfect. Young American men he has helped mentor are beginning to emerge. Roddick has made millions and married a movie star, Brooklyn Decker. And as his friend, the broadcaster Justin Gimelstob, told me recently, “He’s a certain Hall of Famer.” | Taken in that broader and less-scripted context, Roddick’s retirement seems to be perfect. Young American men he has helped mentor are beginning to emerge. Roddick has made millions and married a movie star, Brooklyn Decker. And as his friend, the broadcaster Justin Gimelstob, told me recently, “He’s a certain Hall of Famer.” |
| For those who might disagree, please remember that the less-credentialed Michael Chang is already a member. | For those who might disagree, please remember that the less-credentialed Michael Chang is already a member. |
| As Roddick said, he “got to play” and win America’s Slam, and so from the courts of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center he will take his leave. It may be less difficult when someone else makes the decision, but on one’s own terms there is time to set a mood and have folks say thanks for the memories. | As Roddick said, he “got to play” and win America’s Slam, and so from the courts of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center he will take his leave. It may be less difficult when someone else makes the decision, but on one’s own terms there is time to set a mood and have folks say thanks for the memories. |