Remembering Roddick's 2001 Miami breakthrough

With back-to-back aces, Pete Sampras closed out the first game against an unexpected third-round opponent at the 2001 Ericsson Open in Miami: young countryman Andy Roddick.

The 18-year-old had beaten veteran Harel Levy and former world No. 1 Marcelo Rios in the first two rounds, but was faced with a much more difficult task against the three-time Miami champion.

Roddick, the top junior player in the world in 2000, approached the encounter with a nothing-to-lose attitude—which served him well right from the early stages of the match. With first serves routinely hitting the 130-plus mph mark on the radar, Roddick was able to handcuff Sampras and start points on his terms—if not win them outright with an ace.

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After the two players exchanged breaks, the first set eventually went to a tiebreaker, a scoring situation that puts a premium on remaining calm and collected. Usually, it’s the veteran that prevails under such circumstances, especially one as battle-tested as the big-serving Sampras.

Roddick, though, blasted through the breaker behind some solid backhands, inside-out forehands and uncharacteristic errors from Sampras to take it 7-1.

If the multiple Grand Slam champion was going to get a foothold in the match, he’d have to get off to a quick start in the second set. Roddick slammed that door shut early, holding with ease the first game, breaking Sampras’ serve the next and then consolidating with another quick hold.

Up a set and a break against one of the sport’s greatest champions would certainly cause an underdog to realize the weight of the situation, causing nerves to creep in. But after the two players exchanged easy holds, Roddick took a love-30 lead on Sampras’ serve. Sampras managed to dig out of that hole, but was still down 2-4.

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With Sampras unable to make a dent on his serve, Roddick soon found himself serving for the match at 5-3. In the last game, the young American didn’t rely on pure power as off-speed serves and some craftiness with the backhand took him to a 40-0 lead.

When Sampras made his final backhand error, it was official: The future of American tennis was in good hands. Roddick would win once again to reach the quarterfinals before falling to Lleyton Hewitt.

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