Andy Roddick risks becoming a villain in France as he stands in
the way of an all-French showdown in one of the Wimbledon
quarter-finals.
Should the American be toppled by Paul-Henri Mathieu in the
fourth round on Monday, France will have at least two men in the
last eight of the grasscourt grand slam for the first time since
1991.
Sixteen years ago it was Thierry Champion and Guy Forget who
appeared in the last eight.
While Champion's and Forget's journey ended in the quarters, a
win for Mathieu would mean that France was assured of a semi-final
place as he would go on to face either Richard Gasquet or wildcard
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last eight.
On paper, the owner of the world's fastest serve would be
expected to flatten Mathieu, who is aiming to reach his first grand
slam quarter-final.
However, Mathieu came out on top in both their previous meetings
-- once on the junior circuit and once on the main tour -- and
knows he has the weapons to trouble Roddick.
"I lost to him both times...but this is different territory.
It's the fourth round of a grand slam. Mentally I feel like I have
a bit of an edge going in," said Roddick, who was runner-up to
Roger Federer in 2004 and 2005.
Mathieu has already claimed two seeded scalps en route to the
last 16 and, having enjoyed his best run here, is eager to prolong
his stay in London.
"He's beaten some quality, quality players in the first three
rounds, with (Radek) Stepanek, (17th seed David) Ferrer and (15th
seed Ivan) Ljubicic. They've all been pretty comfortable," said
third seed Roddick.
"That's quite a statement. I'm definitely aware that he's
playing good tennis."
With Gael Monfils also still playing, but lagging behind in the
third round due to the wet weather in the first week, it could turn
out to be one of the most successful championships for the
French.
However, as the sole American survivor in the men's draw,
Roddick knows he is the only one capable of ending his country's
seven-year wait for a male champion.
"Right now I'm playing well enough to go in there and
fight...that's kind of what I'm focusing on right now," he
said.
(China Daily via Reuters July 2, 2007)