Roddick Has Started Serving Notice

WIMBLEDON, England —  John McEnroe is on the BBC, marveling about Andy Roddick, the young American who is warming up for his Center Court debut against Sweden’s Thomas Johansson.

“When I saw him for the first time, I said, ‘Here’s a guy who soaks it up,’ ” McEnroe says. “He practices with Sampras and Agassi and gets his brains beat out, but he learns from it. He has that personality. He loves to be on the tennis court. He loves to be out there.”

Johansson waves at Roddick and points to the exit, indicating that he needs a break in the warmup.

“He’s got Johansson so nervous he’s got to go to the bathroom again,” McEnroe says. “He’s commanding respect in the locker room. These guys know.

“There’s no reason it can’t be Andy Roddick in the semifinals. There’s no reason he can’t get at least to the semifinals.”

You wonder if McEnroe doesn’t wish he, instead of his brother, were still U.S. Davis Cup captain.

You also wonder if maybe we’re all making too much of this 18-year-old Nebraskan who is ranked 40th in the world.

What has he done?

He won a couple of ATP tournaments this year in Atlanta and Houston, although he didn’t beat anyone in the top 30 except Todd Martin. While limping badly from leg cramps, Roddick won a courageous second-round match over Michael Chang in the French Open but lost his next match. The two tournaments he played in England before coming here, his first and second on grass, served no notice of his arrival.

But virtually everyone who knows tennis tells you to keep an eye on this kid, and you find that you really can’t do anything but.

Australian Pat Cash, a former Wimbledon champion, says he hasn’t seen a player in his first tournament here receive this much attention since Andre Agassi, who lost in the first round at 17 in 1987.

Cash approves.

“I don’t think he’s going to win Wimbledon this year,” Cash says, “but he’s really exciting.”

As exciting as Lleyton Hewitt, Cash’s compatriot, who, at 20, is seeded fifth and twice has beaten Roddick this year?

“Lleyton runs around a lot, and he’s very good from the baseline, a tough player,” Cash says. “But he doesn’t have the big gun. A guy like Roddick has the gun.”

Johansson has a gun too, not as big as Roddick’s, whose fastest serve was recorded at 141 mph.

The Swede, 27, is not a fabulous player, but some see him as a future top 10. His seeding here was 11th. With two consecutive tournament titles on grass and an 11-match winning streak, he should prevail over a teenager who is playing only his second Wimbledon match.

But Roddick’s very first serve comes in at 135 mph, and it’s apparent to everyone, including Johansson, that the youngster is impressed but not intimidated by the presence of royalty at Center Court.

“I got goose bumps when I was walking out there,” Roddick would say later. “I got some good advice from the trainer. He said, ‘Look around before the match starts so you don’t have to focus on it during the match.’ I mean, it’s a place like Wrigley Field or Fenway Park or something. It’s just kind of majestic.”

If it appears that he made a concession to the moment by putting his cap on with the bill in front, he didn’t. He usually wears it the other way, causing his sponsor, Adidas, to place its logo on the back of the cap so that it will be visible to viewers.

“It was sunny,” he would say later.

He and Johansson go back and forth at the start, with the Swede perhaps a little more in control. Johansson would have 13 aces in that set. But, when it comes to the tiebreaker, Roddick wins easily, 7-1.

Suddenly, Johansson appears out of sorts, as if he’d rather not be playing someone who seems to play every point as if it were match point and has such a ball doing it. Jim Courier compares him to a Labrador puppy. What does he think tennis is, a game? Roddick wins the second set, 6-1.

“You’re going to find out what Johansson is made of today,” McEnroe says.

Although Roddick seems invincible on his serve, timed at 128 to the outside edge on one point, Johansson finally breaks him in the final game of the third set, which the Swede wins, 6-4.

Four games later, he has two break points. Roddick serves back to deuce, then double faults to give Johansson another break. He would have still another before Roddick holds.

Still, Johansson is on top of his game now, changing the pace, stalling before some points to play on Roddick’s impatience, taking advantage of the kid’s youth. Roddick is so frustrated at one point that he turns his cap around backward. He screams at himself, which is normal for him. He complains to the umpire about a line call, which isn’t. He tosses his racquet.

“He is only 18,” Johansson would say. “I mean, sometimes you can see that.”

Now we’re going to find out what Roddick is made of.

They hold serve, forcing another tiebreaker. By now, Roddick has turned his cap back around. His game too. He wins the tiebreaker, 7-3. The match is his, 7-6 (1), 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (3). So is the All England Club, for at least one day.

He bows to the royal box en route to the exit, then realizes he is not wearing his players’ credential. He retrieves it from his bag and puts it around his neck, although it’s probably not necessary. Every security guard knows now that Roddick belongs.

“It’s only just begun,” McEnroe says.

*

Randy Harvey can be reached at [email protected].

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Featured Matches

Today at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (Play begins on Center Court and Court 1 at 5 a.m. PDT; all other courts 4 a.m.):

CENTER COURT

* Jamie Delgado, Britain, vs. Andre Agassi (2)

* Alicia Molik, Australia, vs. Lindsay Davenport (3)

* Lleyton Hewitt (5), Australia, vs. Taylor Dent

COURT 1

* Slava Dosedel, Czech Republic, vs. Patrick Rafter (3), Australia

* Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia, vs. Venus Williams (2)

* Amelie Mauresmo (6), France, vs. Eleni Danilidou, Greece

COURT 2

* Yevgeny Kafelnikov (7), Russia, vs. Arvind Parmar, Britain