By IANS
Washington : Top American tennis player Andy Roddick has decided to skip the Beijing Olympics to prepare for the US Open Grand Slam.
Roddick, the world No. 6, will defend his Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) Legg Mason Tennis Classic title to be held August 11-17, and prepare himself for the season’s final Grand Slam which kick-starts August 25, a day after the mega event concludes in Beijing.
“My goal every summer is to win the US Open,” Roddick said in a statement issued by the Washington Classic organisers here Tuesday.
“I have won the Legg Mason Tennis Classic three times and feel defending my title in Washington best prepares me for another Grand Slam title,” added the 25-year-old American, who won his only Grand Slam title at the 2003 US Open.
Roddick got back to his winning ways last weekend in Dubai with victories over Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia and reigning French Open champion Rafael Nadal of Spain.
He clinched the Washington title in 2001, 2005 and last year when he defeated fellow American John Isner in the final.
With Roddick out of equation, ninth-ranked James Blake will now spearhead US challenge in the men’s tennis event in Beijing Olympics.