Roddick Battles and Strains Right to the End

Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt looked like refugees from the skateboard park--wearing the appropriate gear, with caps turned backward, of course--who happened to wander over to the French Open.

After more than two hours, they were even in their third-round match Friday. One explosive shot was immediately matched. Roddick skirted dangerously close to the edge in the first set, fighting off seven set points.

But the wild ride ended in the third set. While chasing down a forehand, Roddick fell and tweaked his hamstring. Even though it was clear he was probably done, Roddick was like the kid who wanted to try one more leap through the air on the board, even if it was risky.

“I’m not going to stop without trying,” said Roddick, who played four more points after the leg was treated and wrapped. “I wanted to hit one last winner at Roland Garros this year. Stepped into one forehand, got greedy, wanted another one. I fenced it and decided, ‘OK’ ”.

And so Hewitt advanced, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 2-2 (retired). The sixth-seeded Hewitt of Australia moved into the fourth round and will play Guillermo Canas of Argentina. Roddick, the rookie American at Roland Garros, limped off Center Court, running the gamut of emotions.

Again.

He was teary-eyed and feeling the pain of a strained left hamstring, carrying the realization that he had kept up with one of the French Open favorites. This was two days after the 18-year-old made an indelible mark on the tournament in an epic five-set victory against former champion Michael Chang, surviving despite suffering from cramps.

The pertinent question: What dramatic position will Roddick find himself in the next time he plays on Center Court at the French Open?

He has had more adventures in two matches on that famous court than most players have had in their careers. Roddick simply didn’t want to leave, even though his coach, Tarik Benhabiles, and U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe stood in the friends’ box, making the universal “no mas” gesture.

“It wasn’t fun,” Roddick said. “It took me awhile to regain my composure after the match. You don’t want to go out like that. I said I wanted to make someone play well to beat me, give it my all.”

Roddick maintained he will make his Wimbledon debut this month, saying preliminary tests showed no tear of the hamstring.

The abrupt ending was a shame considering the high level of intensity. Hewitt had 15 aces to none for Roddick. Though Roddick had 37 against Chang, Hewitt managed to get his racket on the missilelike serves.

“Returning is one of my better parts of my game,” Hewitt said. “He serves big. I felt like I was in most of his service games. I think that showed toward the end of the first set. The whole way through the second set, I had chances. I felt like I was on his serve.”

During the Roddick-Hewitt match, cheers and chants wafted over from Court 2. The Belgian fans, at Roland Garros en masse, were doing their best to support countryman Xavier Malisse through his three-hour drama against qualifier Michael Russell.

Russell, who was raised in Detroit and lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., is the surprise of the tournament, considering he survived a match point in the first round of qualifying. The opponent, Olivier Patience, hit an easy volley off his racket frame into the net.

Against Malisse, Russell survived a slow start and thrived under the marathon conditions, winning, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4. Malisse started cramping and needed treatment in the fifth set.

A last-minute boost for Russell was the arrival of his brother, David, who took a 12-hour flight from Hong Kong and landed in Paris at 8:30 Friday morning. “I said, ‘You have to get one more ticket,’ ” David said. “He said, ‘For who?’ ‘For me.’ ”

David has been along for some of his brother’s travails on the lower rungs of the tour. There were the cow pastures near the courts at a minor event in Spain. Michael also spent nine weeks in Asia, and a month in India.

“One week, I would be in an unbelievable hotel,” said Michael, who turned 23 last month. “The next week, I’m staying in a hotel where you’re lucky if you get hot water. You’re praying for hot water. All of a sudden you get it. You can stay in the shower for one day.”

Despite the hard times and doubts, Russell refused to quit, moving up to No. 122. He is fit and muscular, with a good forehand, and doesn’t lose matches by getting winded in the fifth set. “That always makes me feel bad,” David said, smiling. “Because we’re supposed to have the same genetic makeup.”

Michael is playing defending champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil in the fourth round, and like Kuerten during his 1997 run to the title, he is staying in modest digs in Paris, no five-star hotels.

“The first day we get there, our room is facing the sun, there’s no air conditioning,” he said. “I’m thinking, ‘It’s no big deal,’ and 3 o’clock, 4 o’clock comes around, the sun comes up. All of a sudden, I’m sweating.”

“I look outside and it’s about 100 degrees in the room. That went on for six days until we finally changed to a room that was in the shade.

“Two days ago. I switched to the one with air conditioning. It’s kind of funny. Fourth round and I finally get air conditioning.”

Well, the way Russell is going in Paris, maybe room service is just one round away.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

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