Roddick looking for answers

ANDY Roddick’s career credentials are more than impressive. He’s a former U.S. Open champ, the top-ranked American from 2002-10, he’s won 30 titles around the world and finished in the top-10 on the ATP computer for nine straight years.With all this going for him, Roddick currently is trying to answer a tough question. Should he be playing tennis right now when his body and game aren’t 100%? Some look at his ranking, which has now dropped to No. 27 in the world, and wonder why he is playing like he is.After last week’s first round loss to Belgian Xavier Malisse, a player he had never lost to before, Roddick is looking for answers, any answers. “I’m hitting the ball, I’m just stepping up and hitting it when I have to,” answered Roddick.Some say Roddick has lost a bit off his serve and forehand which have been his weapons since he turned pro back in 2000. Roddick looks at it another way, he feels he’s close and when healthy he can still compete with the top players in the world.“The difference between good tennis and bad tennis is stepping up and hitting a serve at set point,” Roddick admitted. While he may not be able to do that like he used to, the fact that he can’t escape the injury bug that has been biting him the last year or so.Injuries have been hampering Roddick’s play in 2012 since his match with Lleyton Hewitt in Australia.“It’s a tough situation, you don’t know whether to stop (playing) or go,” the American right-hander shrugged. “Unfortunately the (ATP) Tour never stops.”With tournaments Roddick has committed to in Delray Beach, Indian Wells and Miami, the problem Roddick now faces is what he should do about his jam-packed schedule.The yearly tennis schedule is a long road, and with 2012 being an Olympic year and the Olympic tennis venue being the grass courts at Wimbledon, the American might want to cut his losses and take a few weeks off to heal.“I don’t know whether there is a right decision to make, all I know is it’s frustrating,” summed up Roddick. It’s also frustrating for fans who want to see Roddick make one more push at the end of his career.