Tennis is a crazy sport. You start practicing 3 hours a day from age 3. You eat, sleep and dream tennis. Coaches, camps, academies...Practice, practice , practice!
And those precious few who are fortunate enough to turn pro and be successful can make a ton of money . Get sponsored, endorsements , prize money and travel the globe . If you're even better you can win tournaments and maybe a "Grand Slam Event". Can be quite a ride.
So when one hits 30 (Exception Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer) your career, while not over is usually on the decline . So why is Roddick hanging it up and leaving millions of dollars on the table. First off, I gather he's financially secure. Secondly he won the Open in 2003, Davis Cup, a lot of tournaments and lost some historic Grand Slam matches. Did someone say Federer at Wimbledon? Not to mention his family of course. Plus He's been hitting tennis balls his whole life..Might be burned out, might need a rest . He's done it all!
So while this "Open " could be his last(The crowd will be nuts tonight!), my gut feeling is that after spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with the family ,.. and after missing the Australian Open, you might very well see a comeback. Who knows ?
For now, hats off to the best American men's player of this past generation!
Steve 'Bud" Goldman reporting.
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