Fresh approach works for Roddick

Andy Roddick cannot believe it after defeating Andy Murray in the semi-final.

This time last year Andy Roddick was doubting himself. He was in a low place and questioned whether he belonged at the top of the game after suffering his earliest Wimbledon exit at the hands of Janko Tipsarevic in the second round. What a difference 12 months makes. The sixth seed is now in the Wimbledon final for the third time in his career. One might assume the American would be in jubilant spirits following his four-set victory over Andy Murray, but he was serene, suggesting that this feat had yet to be absorbed. “Last year after I played here, I mean, that was a hard, hard couple of weeks,” Roddick revealed. “Brook [his wife] and I had a lot of talks [about] if I still thought I could play and at least be towards the top of the game. I definitely openly questioned it at that point. Then the rest of the year I was kind of hurt. “So this off-season, we said, you know what, if you’re not going to be up there, let’s at least not wonder. Let’s prepare yourself and give yourself every opportunity.” So prepare A-Rod did. He committed himself to working hard and focusing on every aspect of his life from diet to sleep in order to create every opportunity to succeed. The effort is certainly paying off but Roddick refuses to get carried away, instead taking the one match at a time approach. “I’m just trying to stay the course. I’m just going about it. I haven’t really gotten too up or too down at any point this event, or this year for that matter.” And that was a tactic Roddick employed against Murray. “I knew going in that getting all hyped up and down, especially in an atmosphere that probably wasn’t going to be super favourable to me, wasn’t probably the way to go. And especially he was probably going to have the edge as far as kind of the adrenalin and the emotion. “I just wanted to stay the course. I was fully aware that there might be ups and downs. I just wanted to keep the same face regardless.” It helps that he is settled into his family life – he got married in April to Brooklyn. In fact, the 26-year-old says that Brook has a calming influence over him and it helps having her around to confide in. “It’s been real good. And she certainly makes the [guest] box better looking,” he quipped. For now, Roddick will stay focused on the next match just as he has done throughout the tournament. And he will no doubt be logging today’s victory on his Twitter page – a task he has been undertaking during the Championships. “120 gone... 8 left.... too much fun,” was posted on June 29 in reference to the amount of competitors left in the draw. “124 home...... 4 left,” read the July 1 entry. Roddick has yet to post his update tonight but we can hazard a guess at what it will say.