For all his accomplishments, the former No. 1 singles player returned this year for his sixth WTT season. He supports Billie Jean King, the league's cofounder, and her vision for the sport. But he is also intrigued by all the players that "are in very different story lines as far as their careers go."
On Wednesday, that meant playing against John McEnroe of New York's Sportimes. Later that night, he got a friendly reminder as to how much time has passed since his first WTT season in 2000.
"I feel old," the 27-year-old Roddick said. "I come here and play with a couple of the girls last night, and they're like, 'I remember watching you when I was 7.' I'm like, 'Oh my God.' Like I said, that's one of the cool things."
Roddick sees plenty of parallels between himself and his younger, lesser-known teammates. One prime example is Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, who told Roddick that she had followed his career since she was a child.
Only 18 years old, Lertcheewakarn became the first Asian player to be named ITF World Champion in 2008 as a junior. The native of Thailand won her second junior Grand Slam in doubles at the 2009 French Open with Elena Bogdan.
That year, Lertcheewakarn also won her first junior singles Grand Slam title at the Wimbledon Championships, partnering with Sally Peers to win the doubles title the following day.
"For me, it's like a little bit of a flashback," Roddick said. "If anything, it's just a nice, kind of, maybe a little bit of perspective and a stroll down memory lane a little bit."
Thursday night's match against the Lobsters was the last of two WTT events Roddick was scheduled to participate in this season.
He beat Jan-Michael Gambill in the singles match, 5-4, and, with partner Courtney Nagle, won the mixed doubles match, 5-4, against Eric Butorac and Raquel Kops-Jones.
Roddick's only setback was in the men's doubles. He and partner Prakash Amritraj lost, 5-4, to Botorac and Gambill.
Contact staff writer Mario Aguirre at 215-854-4550 or maguirre@phillynews.com.
