Two-time Champion and headliner Andy Roddick was forced to withdraw from the Indianapolis Tennis Championships due to a hip flexor suffered in an epic Wimbledon Final loss to Roger Federer.
Obviously, the ITC is hardly what it used to be when it was the premiere hardcourt warm-up to the U.S. Open and attracted names like Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Jim Courier and Andre Agassi. That being said, there was a lot of buzz surrounding the event coming off Roddick's near upset of Federer and ticket sales were way up.
Now that Andy has pulled out, many fans, including myself, won't get their first live look at Roddick. The highest remaining ranked player is Sam Querrey (#34 in the world) and the rest of the field includes Robby Ginepri, Taylor Dent, and others that non-tennis fans couldn't pick out of a police lineup.
You have to feel for Tournament Director Kevin Martin and their PR guy Michael Morrison, both of whom have been phenomenal to deal with and put on a great event each year.
It's always important to support local sports, so I don't want to drive people away from the event. It just can't be understated what a disappointment it is that Roddick will not be there.
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