When Mardy Fish wanted to create an unforgettable moment in one of his latest ATP Tour events, he left one of his closest friends from high school from retirement.
Fish, then 33, delighted fans by teaming up with Andy Roddick in doubles at the Truist Atlanta Open 2015. Roddick hadn’t competed since he had called up his career at the 2012 US Open, while Fish confirmed plans to retire to the US Open of that year and was competing in its third tournament since August 2013.
The former number 7 in the FedEx ATP rankings had been sincere about his struggles to get back on the field. He underwent an operation in June 2014 to correct electrical impulses that did not work with the heart and opened up to fight an anxiety disorder, but was determined to end up on his condition.
“With Mardy’s return, it was a rather surprising story. The fact that he will pursue that even more this summer is really exciting,” said Roddick USA today. “We have been friends for a long time and we just wanted to play together one last time. I wanted to play with my friend and share his return a little.”
Faced with a crowded Wednesday night crowd in Atlanta, Fish and Roddick turned the clock back with a 7-6 (2) 6-4 win over Yen-Hsun Lu and Jonathan Marray. Although the Americans lacked the games played, they were able to lean together on their previous success. They had compiled a 20-6 tour level record and won two titles together, including an ATP Masters 1000 crown at the 2009 BNP Paribas Open.
“When you don’t play that long, you don’t know what to expect,” said Roddick. “I had a lot of fun. I really wanted to win. In the end it was a lot of fun when we realized we had won. I had fun and I think Mardy too. There was a lot of rust out there, but we masked it well.”
“It was a real fun,” said Fish. “The crowd was fantastic. It’s nice to do it here in Atlanta.”
Roddick has also tried to give fish a boost in singles, albeit with less success. When Fish needed a fresh pair of socks during his first round game, Roddick offered his.
“I’m wearing low socks and my shoes were really wet, so I was asking my trainer to run back and get some socks,” explained Fish. “Andy was kind enough to take his feet off and try to bring them to me and I threw them away. I don’t want them!”
Despite crashing in the quarterfinals against Eric Butorac and Artem Sitak, their short run in Atlanta helped kick-start Fish’s final lap during the Tour. He scored the first singular victory of his return three weeks later in Cincinnati. and won a round in his last event in New York.
