At the turn of the millennium, American tennis was still reflecting in the afterglow of its golden period. Andre Agassi had resurrected himself and was still a force on the tour while his long-time rival, Pete Sampras, was hanging around to brush up his records.

On the women’s side there were Serena and Venus Williams, Lindsay Davenport and a rejuvenated Jennifer Capriati. Lurking, not quite in the background, but ready to take over, was Andy Roddick.

I remember the time when he first started making news. This cocky teenager with a serve bigger than Pistol Pete’s and ground strokes flatter and more punishing than those of even Andre. He was so sure of his place in the future of tennis that every step he took on the court was observed and praised the same way as exploits of young princes would float about in the kingdoms of yore.

Andy hates losing to Agassi, Andy serves harder than Greg Rusedski, Andy ready to take the next step – these were what headlines used to look like then. And like an obedient boy, the Texan kept all the promises as he surged to take his maiden Grand Slam at the 2003 US Open.

Earlier in the year he had beaten another young Grand Slam winner, Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, in the US hard-court swing. That win made sure Andy would finish the year as No.1. What appeared to be a usual case of irony on the tennis court at the time has gone on to carry so much more import today, for Roddick would not beat Federer in a competitive match for another five years!

So it was not hard luck, Federer, but the only period of good grace Andy would have. Come to think of it, if there had been hawkeye then, Roddick would not have gone past David Nalbandian in the semis; the Argentinian had met with some really bad line-calls and even accused the American of gamesmanship.

He was on match-point when someone in crowd, which Roddick had worked hard to get involved, shouted ‘out’ during a rally. The umpire never heard it and Nalbandian lost the point. This after all the scheduling fiasco that led to non-Americans, including Nalbandian, playing three or four days on the trot. Just think how many things came together for Roddick that year as they never did again.

This is what the normally courteous Ivan Ljubicic had to say of the American after losing a close match in 2003. “I’m just telling you the feeling of the guys in the locker room. Every single player said to me, ‘Good luck. Kick his ass.”

“I don’t like him. Nobody in the locker room likes his acting on the court. He’s a good player. He’s going to win a lot of matches. But not because he’s like that. It’s just we don’t like it. Because nobody acts that way. He’s the only one.”

“He doesn’t respect the others,” Ljubicic added. “In your face or not in your face, doesn’t matter. What he’s doing is just pumping up the crowd. In the USA he can do it. But everywhere else if he does it, people smile. Fortunately for him, there’s like 70 per cent of the big tournaments played in the USA. He’s number four in the world for that.”

Sour grapes or prophesy?

For the next couple of years, when he was making Wimbledon finals and being mentioned in the same bracket as Federer, Roddick maintained his aura of potential and greatness. If not Sampras, he would at least be his era’s Agassi, wouldn't he? The arrogance, the pigeon-toed aggression, never waiting for opponents between serves - his whole demeanor shouted GREAT. But sadly, that was not to be. As he slipped more and more, what had come across as the idiosyncrasy of an achiever turned into the pomp of a nobody.

A lot about the American has changed in the ensuing years. It could be maturity that comes with age or lessons taught by its various disappointments, but Andy Roddick isn’t that ‘in your face’ any more. He has turned into this jocular lad who everyone feels a little soft for. Not out of admiration towards a seasoned champion but the warmth towards a fallen hero.

Hell, even the phenomenally under-achieving Marat Safin can rest assured that on his best day he could beat everyone including Federer and Sampras, not a thought Roddick can ever humor himself with. Time is still on his side, but what has gone is the belief that his talents are enough; and once that happens, the story is all but over.

Just so this article does not sound too dour and pessimistic though, let me reiterate – there is still time for Roddick.