Andy Roddick Reaches Quarterfinals at Wimbledon, Will Face Hewitt

Over the years, talk of Andy Roddick finally "getting there" has been inaccurate. The top-ranked American has reached the finals at Wimbledon twice, but despite a brief moment in the first set of the finals in 2004, Andy has always seemed a touch short of championship caliber.

Maybe not this year. Roddick took down No. 20 Thomas Berdych 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a match that was hardly competitive after the first set tiebreaker. Andy rode his 24 aces to easy service games, never even facing a break point, but the comfort he has shown with his ground strokes is what has really stood out in 2009.

After the match, Roddick told Phil Jones it was, "The best I've played so far. I was real aggressive, (and) I did a good job of moving the ball around."

Moving the ball around was just what Andy did, accepting the fact that the backhand that has been his Achilles all these years was only going to be there to play defense. A ton of low, cut backhands deep to Berdych allowed Andy to really power through when he got the chance on his forehand side.

Roddick now advances to the quarterfinals for the fourth time in his career, and first since 2007. He will be going against Lleyton Hewitt, who Roddick joked about after the match. "We're a couple of the old guys now," he said.

The time for Roddick to do something at Wimbledon is now. The fitness is paying off on the court, but other things are happening around him to help out as well. Not only is Rafael Nadal not in the field, but Roddick could march to the finals without having to face either Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic until that last match.

The 26-year-old American has always loved playing at the All England Club. Maybe, just maybe, 2009 is the year he takes that relationship to another level.