I kind of got blogged out with all the Dubai stuff but in my hiatus I missed one of the major stories: Andy Roddick's withdrawal from the men's tournament.
Roddick, who was the defending champion,withdrew in protest over the denial of Peer's visa.
I almost thought this was an Onion-esque joke when I first heard it. Because there doesn't seem to be a lot of cross-gender support in professional tennis--and there never has been: recall the Billie Jean King/ATP riff in the 70s.
If Andy Ram had been denied a visa, one could see perhaps see a little more of a direct connection to Roddick's actions.
I'll admit to not being a Roddick fan. I liked him when he first came on the tour and was coached by Tarik Benhabiles. I liked him when he dated Mandy Moore. But when he hooked up with Brad Gilbert and then Connors, I thought he started to become the stereotypical arrogant male athlete.
But you have to give him credit for this act. There seems to be nothing self-serving in it. He lost a lot of points in the rankings race because he didn't even attempt to defend his title. He likely got a fine for withdrawing from the tournament at the late date and without injury or illness.
And in the end he did more than any of the female players did the week before.
3 comments:
Here is more follow-up: Dudi Sela says that Peer is partly to blame--that she didn't apply for the visa in time.
She did. Not only that, but the visa had been promised to her months before.
I am so proud of Andy. I'm going to Davis Cup next week, and though I'm disappointed that Federer has withdrawn, I'll be glad to see Andy.
(I probably shouldn't tell you this, but Mandy Moore says the real reason she broke up with Andy was because he was seeing multiple women while he was "with" her.)
I'm not really surprised that Roddick has a playboy streak.
Have fun at Davis Cup. Are you going to take pics??
I'm sure I won't be allowed to take photos--it's an indoor court. I'm taking my camera, though--just in case. (At least I don't have to be told I can't take pictures of Roger.)
By the way, this isn't the first time Andy has come to the defense of women's tennis. During last year's debate about equal pay--while other ATP members were arguing against it--Andy made a statement, the gist of which was "I make so much money--why would I want to stop someone else from making money?"
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