Lounging in retirement, Andy Roddick is up to No. 40 in this week’s rankings. (JC Salas/Icon SMI)

Andy Roddick is rocking retirement so hard that he’s actually on the rise in the ATP rankings.

Roddick’s ranking remains active because he didn’t file retirement papers after playing his farewell match at the U.S. Open in September. So it was hard not chuckle when the tour released its weekly rankings on Monday and, lo and behold, Roddick actually moved up two spots to No. 40. All without playing a match in five-and-a-half months. Now that takes some skill.

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Andy Roddick is miffed that the ATP has yet to approve a purse increase for Indian Wells. (JC Salas/Icon SMI)

Andy Roddick didn’t mince his words when he was on tour, so it’s no surprise that he’s not mincing them now that he’s retired.

As reported by The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, Calif., Roddick offered his thoughts on the ATP Board of Directors’ failure to approve an $800,000 increase in prize money offered by the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells this year. If you’re confused as to why the tour would decline an increase in prize money, then you’re in the same boat as Roddick.

“I do understand that when someone gives you a (expletive) load of money, you take that money,” Roddick said at his “fireside chat” which benefits the Childhelp Merv Griffin Village, a center for abused children in Beaumont.

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“Someone like Larry Ellison wants to invest into his event and make it the biggest possible, and he gets stopped by the ATP. If you’re a start up, what would make you want to navigate through that and to go through that firing line?” Roddick said. “How can you step into tennis with any confidence?

“It’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of.”

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Andy Roddick called a press conference to announce that the U.S. Open will be his final tournament. (Getty Images)

After more than a dozen years grinding alongside some of the best to have ever played the game, Andy Roddick has decided to call it a career. On Thursday, Roddick called an impromptu press conference at 6 p.m. ET to announce that this year’s U.S. Open would be his final tournament.

The fact that he has chosen to do it at the U.S. Open, on his 30th birthday, is poetic. After all, it was here that Roddick reached the pinnacle of his career, winning his one and only Grand Slam tournament at 21 in 2003. He has loved New York and New York has loved him back, and now, as he hits 30, he’s decided to turn the page and move on from the game that has given him so much.

Much will be written in the coming days about Roddick’s career and his legacy. He remains the last U.S. man to win a Slam or even make a major final, testament to his rightly earned status as America’s alpha. We will remember his heartbreaking loss to Roger Federer in the 2009 Wimbledon final; his on-court outbursts that have been as entertaining as disappointing; and his leadership within the tennis community, mentoring young players and teaching them how to be professionals hungry to succeed.

But perhaps Roddick’s most notable achievement was his longevity. He ended the year inside the top 10 for nine straight years, making five Slam finals.

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Andy Roddick dropped to 9-10 in his career at the French Open. (David Vincent/AP)

Day 1 of the French Open is in the books, and while the American women had a perfect day, Andy Roddick won’t be buying Paris a box of bonbons anytime soon. Here’s a rundown of Sunday’s action.

Roddick tumbles out: Despite coming in on a four-match losing streak, Roddick had reason to hope that things might break his way. After all, Roddick may be a subpar dirtballer, but Nicolas Mahut is noticeably worse. The 30-year old grass-court marathoner had won only one match at Roland Garros going into Sunday with a measly six career wins on clay (SIX!). But no such luck for Roddick. Mahut played as well as he’s ever played on clay (or any surface, for that matter) and zoned for a good portion of the match, beating Roddick 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

Everyone knows Roddick hasn’t been 100 percent after the Australian Open, where he injured his hamstring. He’s struggled to find the balance between protecting his body and getting the requisite match play to feel comfortable on the court. But when you can’t trust your legs, and you’re playing on a surface that requires trusting your movement, it’s never going to end well. Roddick admitted he didn’t have a whole lot of confidence.

“I move just horrendously out here,” Roddick told reporters after falling to 9-10 all time at the French Open. “My first step is just so bad on this stuff. I feel like I’m always shuffling or hopping or not stopping or something.  So my footwork on this stuff now is just really bad.”

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Andy Roddick gets Juan Monaco in the fourth round. (Cynthia Lum/Icon SMI)

Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Over the course of 23 matches dating to 2001, Andy Roddick had, for the most part, played the part of the lunatic to Roger Federer’s genius.

But on Monday night in front of a packed Miami crowd, Roddick finally played the way so many have urged him to do, pounding his forehand and staying aggressive to upend Federer 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-4 in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open.

It’s hard not to wonder what Roddick’s career would have looked like without Federer’s constant intervention. He’s lost to the Swiss in seven finals, four of them at Grand Slam events (three times at Wimbledon, once at the U.S. Open), and four more times in major semifinals or quarterfinals. Federer has been the roadblock, and there hasn’t been much Roddick has been able to do about it.

Often content to play long rallies, Roddick was rarely able to change his mindset against Federer to be more aggressive, to attack the ball, close the distance between himself and the baseline and take more risk. His unwillingness to do so led to a 2-21 head-to-head record entering the Miami clash, with the matches ranging from heart-rending close calls (2009 Wimbledon final, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14) to embarrassingly lopsided defeats (2007 Australian Open semifinals, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2).

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Andy Roddick received medical treatment on his leg before withdrawing from his match against Lleyton Hewitt. (Reuters)

MELBOURNE, Australia — On set point in the third set, Lleyton Hewitt sliced a cross-court backhand that zipped along until it hit the netcord, popped up, clipped the netcord again and dribbled over onto Andy Roddick’s side of the court. That shot gave Hewitt a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 lead, proved to be the last point of the match and summed up Roddick’s luck on Thursday night, a night that began with promise and ended in disappointment.

Roddick retired from his much-anticipated match with his longtime Aussie rival after re-aggravating a right hamstring injury that he suffered while training in December. Roddick came down awkwardly after lunging for a forehand in the third game of the second set. He called the trainer on the changeover and left the court for treatment, but his movement was clearly hampered when he returned, particularly to his backhand side.

Roddick gamely played on — “You don’t really have much time for clarity in that situation,” he said later –  but after dropping the next two sets, he discussed the situation with the trainer and promptly retired, sending Hewitt through to the third round to face Milos Raonic.

“If somehow you pull a rabbit out of the hat, I don’t think you play in two days,” a somber Roddick said. “If I’m looking at timelines, I think there’s three weeks or so before I have to play again. I like those timelines a lot more than two days.”

It’s a frustrating result for Roddick, who, thanks to a slightly longer offseason, came here fit and hungry to fight his way back into the top 10 where he feels he belongs. To come up lame in a completely winnable early-round match was a crushing blow of bad luck that knocked him out of the tournament and leaves him racing the clock to get himself fit for the rest of the season.

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By C.W. Sesno, SI.com

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A new year, a new look for Andy Roddick. The 29-year-old unveiled a new hairdo at the Kooyong Classic, a tune-up exhibition for the Australian Open that starts on Wednesday.

There are a few plausible explanations for how and why this disaster has happened:

1) With a 30th birthday around the corner, Roddick is clinging to youth.
2) Conversely, he has embraced what seems to be a receding hairline.
3) He’s trying to boost his Little Giants-esque intimidation factor.
4) Jet-lag + electric hair trimmer = Bad decisions in Australia.
5) Social pressure to match his wife’s weird head-thingy.
6) The Birdman calleth.

What do you think of Roddick’s new ‘do? Sound off in the comments and let us know.