Pressing on

So Roddick lost today. Straight sets to "Deliciano" Lopez, as some of the women (including Andy Murray's mom!?) are calling him. Yes, Lopez is somewhat dreamy. And he's also good pals with Nadal. And he played a great match today. So I guess I should start rooting for him.

But first I'll feel a little sad for Roddick. Although it was somewhat heartening to hear in his post-match press conference that he felt this loss was easier to take than last year's because, as he said, "I got beat." Roddick didn't give up or play poorly; he felt Lopez was simply the better player today.

Here's the thing about Roddick press conferences: They make me jumpy. Roddick can be funny, and he's usually pretty honest--which is refreshing. But he can also be blunt. And he takes NO crap from the journalists there, and at times dishes some out. He's not afraid to call out a journalist for asking a stupid question. And he doesn't like questions that make assumptions or are designed to take him somewhere he doesn't want to go.

I have a certain amount of respect for all that. But the way he handles it doesn't always put me at ease. I find just about every Roddick press conference at least partly cringe-worthy.

Today I thought he did a good job. A little testy at times, but given the circumstances, I expected to cringe more than I did.

However, my favorite exchanges was this (paraphrased because I'm too lazy to find it online and transcribe it...)

• Journalist: As you get older, do you ever think that maybe this dream of yours--winning Wimbledon--might not happen?

• Andy: Of course! I'm human. [pauses, looks directly at the reporter] And you may never get your dream job. No offense to your current employer.

His delivery was priceless. I actually laughed out loud, as did many of the journalists in the room.

And that is what can make the cringing worth it.

On a sidenote, one of my favorite Roddick interview moments is from the 2008 U.S. Open, when asked about Djokovic's injuries. (Djokovic used to have a LOT of medical issues during matches; it seemed somewhat suspect.) Asked about whether it was a left ankle or right ankle injury, Roddick starts riffing on all possible maladies Djokovic is suffering from, including "a back and a hip... a cramp... bird flu... anthrax... SARS... common cough and cold." I think it was the use of the phrase "common cough and cold" that won me over. Funny!

You can see it here.

Back to today's loss... Lots of debate in the studio about what it may take for Roddick to make a true run at another major title before he retires. Here's hoping he can do it. After winning the U.S. Open in 2003, he's made it to four major finals (impressive) losing ALL FOUR TIMES to Federer. That's got to sting.

For now, we wait and see.

Meanwhile, Venus Williams won her match handily today. And then visited with Hannah Storm and Chris Evert in the studio for a great interview. Perhaps the Williams' sisters' time away has served as a palate cleanser of sorts, but I really appreciated everything she had to say and enjoyed the interview more than I expected. Who'd a thunk it?

And she and Roddick both handled the Serena/Court Two issue well, when asked.

On a final note, many of today's matches ended up canceled due to rain, which begs the question... is it raining more in England these days, or in Iowa? It could be a toss-up.