Roddick: At this point anything is a possibility

 

Originally published on: 13/06/12 00:00

The clouds might have parted at Queen’s Club but for four-time champion Andy Roddick at least, Wednesday made for a rather gloomy day.

The 29-year-old American, who lifted the gargantuan trophy at the West London event in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007, was dealt his earliest exit at the AEGON Championships since a first round loss on his debut 11 years ago.

Defeated 4-6 6-4 7-5 by Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who he had comfortably beaten in their only other career meeting last year in Winston-Salem, Roddick will head to Wimbledon with just seven wins to his name in 18 matches this season. 

Ankle and hamstring injuries, in particular, have disrupted him thus far in 2012.

“That certainly didn’t help,” admitted the Texan of his physical problems. “I’ve certainly played my fair share of average tennis. The result [today] was not what I was looking for. The guy played great.”

Roddick had come in to the AEGON Championships off the back of a poor clay season, losing all three of his matches at the World Team Championship in Dusseldorf before falling to world No.89 Nicolas Mahut in the first round at Roland Garros. Despite defeat on his return to grass, however, Roddick felt like he was striking the ball reasonably well.

“I didn’t hit the ball too badly,” he said. “I’ve certainly played a lot worse this year so far.”

The three-time Wimbledon finalist had been rumoured to be considering making this year’s Championships his last, but refused to reveal if he was contemplating calling it quits at the end of this year.

“I’m not at the point where I‘m going to deal in absolutes with my career,” he said. “I’m not going to sit here and say I’m going to play three more years – so take that as what you want.

“You know at this point anything is a possibility.”

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