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Australian Open
January 25, 2003
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Two young American tennis stars down, one much bigger American star to go.
Rainer Schuettler of Germany defeated Andy Roddick 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Friday in the Australian Open semifinals to earn a place in the final against Andre Agassi.
The contest became an indoor match when organizers closed the roof because of 102-degree temperatures and high humidity.
Roddick did not argue. After fighting through a five-hour match in the previous round against Younes Aynaoui, the last thing he needed was to fight the elements. But he still ended up with something other than Schuettler to worry about: pain in his right wrist from diving for a ball in his match against Aynaoui.
The 20-year-old walked onto the court with it taped, and he took a three-minute injury timeout after the second set to have it re-examined and rewrapped.
"It was tough. I went out there, I tried my best," said Roddick, who had to retire in the second round last year after spraining an ankle. "I wasn't going to pull out of another Grand Slam. Wasn't going to happen. I went out there. Gave it my all. Rainer played a smart match. Under normal circumstances, I don't even know if I would have won. He was playing great."
That has been true since Schuettler arrived, but who would have predicted it? More interested in soccer as a youngster, Schuettler began playing tennis at age 10, quite late compared to most of his tour peers. He started the year after Boris Becker won Wimbledon for the first time in 1985, setting the tone for a tennis boom in Germany.
But with Becker and Steffi Graf retiring and the German tennis federation suffering serious financial problems linked to the sport's declining popularity, the boom has turned into a whimper.
The next-generation German considered most likely to succeed has been Tommy Haas, but though Haas has been as high as No.2 in the rankings, he has never been to a Grand Slam final. Now Schuettler, who also ousted James Blake, can tell him about it, and tell himself that he made the right decision when he decided to turn professional at 17.
"Maybe he eats something wrong on the day before, then I have a chance," a chuckling Schuettler said of Agassi, who has won seven Grand Slam singles titles. "No, I mean, I have no pressure at all. I just go on the court. He's in good shape. He played the matches unbelievably."
Compared with Roddick's marathon against Aynaoui, Friday's 2 hour, 19 minute affair felt more like a sprint, though in a sense, one match did carry into the next.
Roddick's legs were weary and his wrist was sore. Even if he were not certain he would be healthy enough to play in the final against Agassi, Roddick wanted the opportunity to find out.
"I warmed up, and they asked me how it was, and I said, 'Tolerable,"' Roddick said. "I thought as long as it stays like that, I'm okay. ... But it didn't get better as the match went on."
Considering Roddick was still muscling airborne forehands and cracking first serves at 135 mph, Schuettler was unsympathetic.
"I really tried to focus on my game," Schuettler said. "I didn't care if he was injured or not. I tried to play my aggressive game from the baseline. I mean, if you serve at 215 (kph) or whatever, I don't know if the wrist really hurts. For me, I won, and that's what counts."