Roddick fit to win
KEY BISCAYNE (AP) – The conversation that inspired the Andy Roddick weight-loss program occurred shortly after he hired Larry Stefanki as coach in December.
“I told Larry, ‘This is your show. I’m here to follow,'” Roddick recalled. “He promptly said, ‘OK, lose 15 pounds,’ and I regretted saying what I said.”
Now Roddick’s slimmer and fitter. But better? That question might be answered at the Sony Ericsson Open, where the No. 5-seeded Roddick plays his opening match against Diego Jun-queira of Argentina Friday.
He’s off to the best start of his career with a 23-4 record, and he matched his best Australian Open showing when he reached the semifinals before losing to Roger Federer.
“I’ve been playing well and winning the matches I’m supposed to win,” Roddick said Thursday. “I think there is some room for improvement. I’m excited about the rest of the way.”
Seeded players had first-round byes and begin matches Friday, with Federer, Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic among those in action. Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia defeated Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to set up a second-round match with top-ranked Rafael Nadal.
Roddick hired Stefanki after slipping to No. 8, his lowest year-end ranking since 2002. With a new workout regimen he met the coach’s goal of shedding 15 pounds, which has allowed him to chase down shots that before might have been out of reach.
Now Roddick will try to chase down Nadal, Federer and Djokovic in the rankings.
The third-ranked Djokovic noticed the difference last week when Roddick beat him 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals at the BNP Paribas Open.