Mardy Fish started reeling himself in to the finish this week. The doubles team christened Fish 'n' Rod by yours truly has been in full effect at the BB&T Atlanta Open. Fish and partner Andy Roddick, induced out of retirement at the prospect of helping his high-school chum polish off a career with highs and lows aplenty, won their first-round match in Hotlanta after Fish fell to Dudi Sela in singles action. The pair lost to Eric Butorac and Artem Sitak, 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
What is at hand here is the formation of a legacy. Not the culmination, mind you, but the start. As Roddick, James Blake, John McEnroe, and others have shown before him, Fish's time with tennis will hardly cease when he hangs up his battle axes as a professional player.
Even so, he's well worth a proper sendoff. And that would be the case whether or not he had won seven singles titles, reached three major quarterfinals, and risen to a career-high No. 7 ranking. The Southern leg of his stateside farewell tour began with parting salutations from the likes of Roddick, John Isner, Bob and Mike Bryan, and Atlanta tournament director Eddie Gonzalez.