ANDY RODDICK
By EMILY NIPPS, Tampa Tribune
.......
Blanche laughs when she remembers 8-year-old Andy playing tennis with his friend in front of the house, using cracks in the sidewalk as the net. Andy was Michael Chang and his friend, who was Asian, was Agassi.
``A man walked by and asked what the score was, and Andy said, `I'm Michael Chang and this is Andre Agassi,' '' Blanche said. ``The guy looked at both of them and said, `I think you've got it mixed up.' But when you're 7 or 8 years old, you don't see things like that.''
Ten years later, Andy Roddick made one of the most dramatic debuts at the French Open, fighting through cramps to defeat Chang in May.
..............
That was when Blanche and Jerry watched from courtside at the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne as their youngest son - the same one who sleeps in the bedroom next to theirs and still drives his mother's car - beat Pete Sampras.
Roddick nearly took Sampras' head off with one of his 140 mph serves, and beat his boyhood idol in two sets.
Afterward, Roddick found his mother in the stadium's training room. They embraced, both in tears, while trainers and reporters walked by, staring.
``He said to me,'' Blanche said, pausing because she still cries when she thinks about it. ``He said, `Mom ... thank you for driving me around all those times.' ''
(quoted from roddickrocks.com)
By EMILY NIPPS, Tampa Tribune
.......
Blanche laughs when she remembers 8-year-old Andy playing tennis with his friend in front of the house, using cracks in the sidewalk as the net. Andy was Michael Chang and his friend, who was Asian, was Agassi.
``A man walked by and asked what the score was, and Andy said, `I'm Michael Chang and this is Andre Agassi,' '' Blanche said. ``The guy looked at both of them and said, `I think you've got it mixed up.' But when you're 7 or 8 years old, you don't see things like that.''
Ten years later, Andy Roddick made one of the most dramatic debuts at the French Open, fighting through cramps to defeat Chang in May.
..............
That was when Blanche and Jerry watched from courtside at the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne as their youngest son - the same one who sleeps in the bedroom next to theirs and still drives his mother's car - beat Pete Sampras.
Roddick nearly took Sampras' head off with one of his 140 mph serves, and beat his boyhood idol in two sets.
Afterward, Roddick found his mother in the stadium's training room. They embraced, both in tears, while trainers and reporters walked by, staring.
``He said to me,'' Blanche said, pausing because she still cries when she thinks about it. ``He said, `Mom ... thank you for driving me around all those times.' ''
(quoted from roddickrocks.com)