SEARCHING FOR THE GREAT AMERICAN HERO

Can Andy Roddick withstand the pressure?

PARIS, SUNDAY, MAY 27 – Is Andy Roddick capable of withstanding the mounting pressure that he will become the next great American tennis champion?

There are two questions that constantly arise when talking about players labeled for future greatness – do they really have the goods to be that great and will they feed on or die from the swirling expectations?

The truth is that a desperate American tennis community has been feverishly searching for an heir apparent to Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi for years. Their hunger to secure an individual for greatness has led to a few misses along the way in the identification process – Justin Gimelstob, Paul Goldstein, and even Jan-Michael Gambill, fall into this department. It's not that these three are bad players – they have varying degrees of talent and in relative terms, are capable of posting successful careers – they just were unlikely candidates for greatness who were only given that distinction because of an anxiety that no one was there to fill the big shoes of Pete and Andre.

One sign that a person possesses a champions' personality is that they don't crumble from the pressure of expectations. A true talent will feed off of the challenge and do everything conceivable to realize the dream.

"I'm kind of used to it – I don't mind it that much," Roddick has said of the constant chatter about his pending status as America's top dog. "I like competing, whether it's tennis, basketball, kind of anything. I love competition. I like the individuality of tennis. You kind of have to rely on yourself and that makes things interesting sometimes."

A self-reliant sort, Roddick is talented, mature, has a complete game that includes a serve that is a major weapon, and is raring to go – the essential ingredients for superstardom.

"You can't have fear or you're not going to do anything," Roddick surmises. "I"ve said all along I'm not going to replace Sampras and Agassi. I'm going to try to do my own thing and hope that it works out well."

Interestingly, in his first years in the juniors, Roddick was not a kid who garnered attention. But during his last year in the junior ranks, he came alive, winning the Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl titles in 1999 and the 2000 Australian and U.S. Open honors.

Shortly after Roddick won the Australian junior title, the focus on the Boca Raton native revved up. And from the outset, Roddick has handled the situation with aplomb and intelligence.

"I don't say I want to be No. 1 in the world or anything like that," Roddick insists, trying to play it cool.

A call to his home to set up an interview for a Tennis Magazine article just a couple of weeks after his momentous win in Melbourne was answered by Roddick, himself. Without the imput of his coach, former French player Tarik Benahabiles, or his parents permission, a then 17-year-old Roddick made an appointment for the following week, remembered precisely when the meeting was scheduled, and showed up ready to chat.

Since that time, phone calls to Roddick at home and to his cell phone have been met with a friendly hello and what can I help you with – a demeanor that we can only hope will remain. Even after Roddick reached the Ericsson Open quarterfinals in March, having beaten Pete Sampras en route to that Miami finish, the Floridian has proven to be accessible to the media.

Nevertheless, the tennis world should be cautious not to rush Roddick before his time.

Despite winning two tune-up events to the French Open, it would be wrong to expect Roddick to be ready for Grand Slam champion status quite yet. To be honest, if Roddick can wind his way to a fourth round showing at Roland Garros these next two weeks, he would be able to consider the 2001 French Open a tremendous success.

While Roddick might not be ready to take Roland Garros by storm, he certainly was ready to rock Australian Scott Draper with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 first round victory in the early evening of the first day of action. "It felt good," Roddick said to three American reporters courtside after the match. "I wasn't thinking this was my first Grand Slam match win since I've been winning some matches lately. It was my first match in three weekd or more and I still have some stuff to work on."

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

After the match, Roddick was sought out by quite a number of autograph seekers – an experience that is bound to intensify as he continues to show signs of being superstardom material.

"The more matches I win and the more I play, the more people recognize your name," Roddick said, clearly understanding the road that lies ahead.

Roddick moves into the second round to face fellow American Michael Chang and revealed that watching Chang's memorable run to his lone Grand Slam victory here at Roland Garros in 1989 was one of his first vivid tennis memories.

Whether Roddick's future is golden is still a mystery, although more and more each day, tennis pundits are seeing the signs of stardom emerging. And certainly the fact that the American teen is eager to fulfill the prince in waiting role, and doesn't seem unnerved by the responsibility, is putting a lot of smiles on a lot of faces in the world of American tennis.