BREAKING NEWS: Andy Roddick Calls it Quits After the US Open

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Complex Original

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On the day of his 30th birthday, American tennis star Andy Roddick decided to celebrate in a particularly unusual way—by announcing his retirement from tennis.

According to Roddick, the ongoing US Open in New York City will be the last tournament he will play in on a professional level. The decision certainly comes as a surprise to those who follow the game. After calling his own press conference out of the blue, Roddick noted his lack of physical and mental readiness as the main reasons for his decision to hang up the tennis sneakers.

During his 12-year pro career, Roddick has ranked as high as No. 1 in the world. But over the last half dozen years or so, he has seemingly been unable to keep up with the likes of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Having failed on four other occasions, his victory at the 2003 US Open is A-Rod’s only Grand Slam title. It will be pretty incredible if he can rally to win his 2nd Slam. Hopefully he will play loose and leave everything out on the court from here on it. It would make for a rather memorable run.

This will obviously be a blow to American tennis, not to mention to Babolat, Roddick’s official racket and footwear outfitter.

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