A Tale of Two Andys: Roddick and Murray do Miami

In what appeared a sparingly attended exhibition in Miami, a gleefully retired Andy Roddick actually defeated world No. 3 Andy Murray, the Olympic and U.S. Open champion, by a 6-2, 6-3 score. The match, part of the Miami Tennis Cup event at Crandon Park on Key Biscayne, took place where the ATP and WTA combined event has been played for years. Murray remarked that he was impressed by Roddick's hitting in light of his lack of play since the U.S. Open, where the retiree made a "decent" run. (Of course, all runs look merely decent when you yourself are the eventual champion.)

To no one's surprise, Roddick got his verbal licks in, saying, "[Murray] was nice to me tonight" and that, "If we had gone three sets I would've had a full body cramp and it would've been awkward for all of you." He added, "I don't miss the travel at all." Perhaps he will be remembered just as much for his sterling gifts of quotes, for better or worse, as for his tennis, and that 2003 U.S. Open title and No. 1 ranking.  

Here's a clip of the Andys doing battle, featuring the Roddick trademarks of banter and big serving:

It was a far cry from one of Roddick's notable victories of the 2012 season, before he put on four more pounds post-playing career. In March, Roddick defeated Roger Federer in three sets for one of just three lifetime wins over the greatest of all time in 21 meetings. For those feeling frisky, you can watch the entire two-hour collision below:

Roddick went on to lose the Miami Tennis Cup final to Nicolas Almagro, 6-4, 7-5. It was a fitting sign-off to the year on court for the American, and a telling one in that he never lost to Almagro in actual ATP-level matches.

—Jonathan Scott (@jonscott9)