Andy Roddick takes on Philipp Kohlschreiber under the lights on centre court in Cincinnati later today.
Slowly but surely Roddick is having to deal with the march of time and the effects of well over a decade of big serving on his body. An abdominal injury has ruined his US Open preparations so far, keeping him out of Washington and Montreal though he is also now scheduled to compete in Winton Salem next week.
Usurped by Mardy Fish as America’s top player, Roddick goes into Cincinnati ranked 15, the lowest he’s been since 2002 and he’s been quite fortunate not to be seeded to face one of the big four in the round of sixteen.
The good news is that he’s compiled an excellent record at this event over the years, winning it in 2003 and 2006. He also holds a decent 4-1 head-to-head record over Kohlschreiber, beating him at Wimbledon and the Shanghai Masters last year.
It’s not been a great season for the German who’s slipped down to 42 in the rankings and crashed out in the opening round of the Montreal Masters to Sergiy Stakhovsky.
