Roddick’s career ends with U.S. Open loss to del Potro

Andy Roddick

American Andy Roddick’s professional tennis career came to and end at the U.S. Open Wednesday with a fourth-round 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4 loss to Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina.  During an on-court address after the loss, the 2003 U.S. Open champion got choked up as he spoke, telling the crowd, “Since I was a kid, I’ve been coming to this tournament. I felt lucky just to sit where all of you are sitting today, to watch this game, to see the champions that have come and gone. I’ve loved every minute of it.” Roddick had made a surprise announcement last week, on his 30th birthday, that the U.S. Open would be his final tournament.  In other tournament news, top-seeded Roger Federer was upset by sixth-ranked Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 7-6 (1), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in their quarterfinal match. Advancing was defending champion Novak Djokovic, after Stanislas Wawrinka stopped playing because of illness and fatigue while trailing 6-4, 6-1, 3-1. Among the day’s winners were: Andy Murray, who downed 12th-seeded Marin Cilic 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-0; Maria Sharapova, who defeated Marion Bartoli 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; and Serena Williams, who beat Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-3.