Three weeks. That's all Andy Roddick is expected to miss with the knee injury that knocked him out of the Shanghai Masters last week in the middle of his first-round match.It should still give him time to qualify for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London in November.
"Results of the MRI [scan] showed a mild sprain of his medial collateral ligament of the left knee," said a statement on Roddick's website. "The news was very good for Andy. No surgery will be needed and Andy is expected to make a 100 percent recovery."
But Roddick's warning still stands. This time every year, players grumble about the difficulty of the schedule. Basically, the U.S. Open has passed, casual sports fans think the season is over, and plenty of the top players, tired from a long year, are wanting the same thing.
The day before Roddick got hurt, he complained about the 11-month long season, filled with required appearances. So did Rafael Nadal.
From there, the outcome of the tournament proved their point, as nine players withdrew during matches with injuries. On top of that, Roger Federer (fatigue) and No. 4 Andy Murray (sore wrist) didn't come at all.
"It's ridiculous to think that you have a professional sport that doesn't have a legitimate off-season to rest, get healthy and then train. . ." Roddick had said. "I just hope that the short-sightedness doesn't affect the length of players' careers. In tennis you definitely want your stars around as long as possible."
And then, pop, Roddick was out in the middle of the first set against Stanislas Wawrinka, followed by a row of players.
This has become the big issue on tour. And Adam Helfant, new CEO of the ATP Tour, will talk with the players about it in London.
But the schedule is not as easy to change as you might think. It is already set through 2011, and the 2012 schedule will need to have room for the London Olympics.
Also, the players do not have a union independent of tournament officials. So half the decision-making process is done by tournament directors who don't want the season shortened. On top of that, the post-U.S. Open part of the year is the Asian swing of the tour, and it's not easy to simply dismantle that when a worldwide game is being promoted in front of such large populations.
The best hope is for an adjustment to the number of required stops. Or maybe a strong players union, but it's doubtful that Helfant will be pushing that.
So what's next for Roddick? Rest and rehab.
For two weeks.
Then, he starts training again. He figures to play in the Paris Masters Nov. 8-15 in a push for a spot in the World Tour Finals which invites the top eight players. Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro are already in.
Roddick fell to No. 7 in the rankings on Monday.
No time for pain.
Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com
