Patrons in a packed Arthur Ashe stadium rose to acclaim the departure of Andy Roddick, from the tournament and the game, after a typically combative struggle, losing in three and a quarter hours to Juan Martín del Potro.
The score, 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4, accurately told the story of the roller-coaster exit, Roddick starting in a blaze when the notoriously slow-to-engage Argentinian was unfocused, followed by the inevitable decline on tired legs before one last burst at the end, something typical to remember him by.
He cried on court, uncontrollably, and spoke eloquently and candidly about his 13 years in tennis. "I haven't always been easy on you guys," he said in scatter-gun reference to fans, journalists and opponents, the latter of whom have felt the more relevant point of his sword on court, "but I have loved every minute of it."
When he faced the media a little while later, the respected octogenarian writer Bud Collins asked for colleagues to break protocol and give Roddick a round of applause. The response was instantaneous and loud.
"Thanks, Bud," Roddick said.Asked what was his most rewarding experience, he said: "I was consistent and I don't feel like I left a lot on the table on a daily basis. When I look back, that's what I'm proud of."
Del Potro, in halting English, was equally heartfelt: "It was really tough moment for me and for him, also. Last point of his life. The crowd was amazing for both players. I really enjoyed in that way, but it wasn't easy for me to play. I had to close the match with my serve."
The result might have been predictable but it was nonetheless engrossing for that. Roddick, the last American to win a slam title, here in 2003, will be missed and there is a sense that, just turned 30, he is leaving too early.
Injuries and indifferent form have plagued him for the past couple of years and when he started losing to players he previously would have beaten easily, doubt entered his tennis. And Roddick was never one to harbour self-doubt.
Elsewhere the defending champion, Novak Djokovic, was glad of an easy afternoon's work when Stanislas Wawrinka retired for health reasons when trailing 6-4, 6-1, 3-1 after a little over an hour and a half. The Serb has cruised through this tournament almost unnoticed, having given up only 20 games in his four matches on the way to the quarter-finals, where he will meet Del Potro.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2010
image: © marianne bevis
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