Despite loss, teen is on fast track to stardom

Victoria Sun

Friday, June 29, 2001 | 10:21 a.m.

Almost nine months ago, tennis sensation Andy Roddick was a relative unknown to all but the most attentive tennis fans.

Because back then, Roddick wasn't playing at Wimbledon on the hallowed grounds of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, where he lost today.

Back then, he was playing in Challenger events, tennis' equivalent to triple-A baseball, in cities such as Austin, Texas; Knoxville, Tenn.; and even here in Las Vegas in front of a couple of hundred people at the most -- not thousands.

For the few dozen fans who made it to the Fertitta Tennis Complex to watch Roddick grind it out in the Las Vegas Challenger event last November and were wise enough to get his signature scribbled on a tennis ball or T-shirt: Hang on to those items, because they could become very valuable in the near future.

The 18-year-old out of Boca Raton, Fla., won at Austin and Burbank, Calif., to finish last year ranked No. 160 in the ATP Champions Race, which determines the year-end No. 1.

Now his ranking has rocketed to 24th in the Champions Race and 33rd in the entry system used to determine which players automatically qualify to play tournaments and barring injury. There's no reason it won't soar even higher.

This year, the charismatic Roddick has already beaten Pete Sampras, Marcelo Rios and Todd Martin.

He won his first ATP Tour title in Atlanta on clay, then followed it up with another clay court victory in Houston.

Roddick's rapid rise was no surprise to top Americans such as Sampras, Las Vegan Andre Agassi or former No. 1 John McEnroe.

Roddick was a practice partner for the U.S. Davis Cup team McEnroe captained last year, and he has hit with all three players on several occasions.

Even though he has a blistering serve, powerful ground strokes and great court awareness, one of Roddick's best assets may be his mind.

Roddick knows how to play points and he knows how to win, even when he is not striking the ball particularly well or serving at his best.

This was evident while he trudged through to the semifinals in Las Vegas before losing to Russian Neville Godwin, 6-4, 6-1.

For an 18-year-old, Roddick's mental game is superior to most of the juniors he dominated before turning pro.

Yet one the best things about him is his endearing personality.

Roddick shook his head repeatedly and laughed hysterically last November when a reporter told him that in a few years, he would be named one of People magazine's 50 most beautiful people like American tennis player Jan-Michael Gambill has been.

The fact that he isn't a tennis prima donna and has remained humble despite all of the attention surrounding him is what will help him become a No. 1 player someday.

In November Roddick's coach, former ATP Tour player Tarik Benhabiles, said, "I tell you, if he wins one Grand Slam title, just one in his career, I will be the happiest man ever."

He may not have long to wait.