Andy Roddick has turned to Jimmy Connors to give his sputtering career a boost.
"I've got a coach," Roddick said on Tuesday at a news conference with Connors at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, where the Countrywide Classic was being played.
The announcement wasn't a surprise. Roddick reached out to Connors after an early exit from the French Open in June and there had been much speculation since about their association.
Connors said he never would have imagined himself as a coach and called it a "great opportunity" to help Roddick regain the No 1 ranking.
"I would like to try to give him a little bit of what made me what I was, and he is able to suck that up like a sponge. He's proven that already," said Connors, who won 109 titles and eight Grand Slams. "It's not always in the game. It's the intangibles that could make the difference, along with a few tweaks here and there. I'm not sitting down there breaking down and criticising everything. I'm just trying to make him the best that he can be."
The 23-year-old Roddick won the US Open and reached No 1 on the ATP Tour in 2003 and was runner-up to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2004 and '05, when he finished the season ranked No 3.
{{/usCountry}}The 23-year-old Roddick won the US Open and reached No 1 on the ATP Tour in 2003 and was runner-up to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2004 and '05, when he finished the season ranked No 3.
{{/usCountry}}He has struggled this year, however, failing to win a title and falling to No 10.
Roddick was coached by Brad Gilbert in '03, but those two parted in 2004 and since then Roddick has worked with Dean Goldfine and his brother, John.