Mike Celizic

You used to wonder when Andy Roddick was going to catch lightning in a bottle again the way he did in 2003 when, as a lad of 21 with a huge serve and all the talent in the world, he pounded his way to a U.S. Open Title. Now, you no longer wonder when but if.

That year had begun with Andre Agassi winning the Australian Open and the last grand slam title of his fabulous career. It ended with Roddick shaking down the New York thunder from the skies above Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens. It seemed then as if the torch of American tennis, a flame that had been through the hands of Pete Sampras, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, had been safely handed off to Roddick. With another young star, James Blake, also coming of age, it seemed as if American men would continue to matter in tennis.

But it didn’t work out that way. Roger Federer showed up and utterly took over the game. Until Rafael Nadal showed up, no one, including Roddick, even belonged on the same court with the great Swiss champion. Although Roddick would reach the No. 1 world ranking, he has yet to win another grand slam.

But he hasn’t gone away. He hasn’t given up. After two years of disappointing finishes at Wimbledon, he’s again blasted his way into the semifinals at the game’s cathedral. He’s got yet another in a string of coaches, Larry Stefanki, he’s 15 pounds lighter and in better shape than he’s ever been, and the competitive fires burn hotter than ever. They have to: a month shy of his 27th birthday, the tennis version of old age is rushing at him.

And now, on the other side of the net in the Wimbledon semis, stands a 21-year-old rising star, a kid who shares a lot with the 21-year-old Roddick. He even has the same first name: Andy, Andy Murray. And as Roddick was America’s next great hope in 2003, Murray is Great Britain’s in 2009.

Federer, back on top now with Nadal injured, will probably be waiting for the winner and looking to break Sampras’ all-time record of 14 grand slam singles titles in Sunday’s final. But it’s too early to worry about Federer. First, our Andy has to beat their Andy in Friday’s semifinals.

It’s not going to be easy, but it’s almost guaranteed to be wildly entertaining. Roddick has built his stamina and his mental toughness, but he still lives on the world’s hardest serve, a blistering weapon that produced 43 aces in his five-set quarterfinal win over fellow “old man” Lleyton Hewitt of Australia.

Murray has the kind of altitude — 6-foot-3 — that one normally finds on big servers. But the native of Scotland is more counterpuncher than basher. He’s got marvelous touch, brilliant reflexes, and one of the biggest shot arsenals in the game. Like almost everyone else in the game, Murray hits a hard two-handed backhand. Unlike almost everyone else, he also hits a one-handed backhand cut. He uses it to execute exquisite drop shots and floating shots that serve the purpose of a change-up in baseball.

Murray is the kind of player who can drive a guy with a huge serve like Roddick nuts because he keeps hitting the ball back, working the corners and the lines, varying the pace and spin, and forcing an opponent into errors. He’s a kid on his way up who doesn’t yet know what he can’t do.

Roddick will also have to battle the crowd on Centre Court. All of Great Britain is in an absolute dither over their Andy and his quest to break one of the longest losing streaks in sports. That’s the one that Great Britain is mired in at its own national championship. It’s not as bad as the Chicago Cubs’ losing streak, but it’s worse than that of the Cleveland Indians. And when even Cleveland has won a title more recently than you, you know you’re bad.

Back in 1936, Fred Perry won his third straight Wimbledon title. Perry would also win the U.S. Open that year to make it eight grand slam titles in just four years. There seemed no reason to believe that British tennis wouldn’t continue to thrive for years to come.

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But with Perry’s third win, the sun set on the British tennis empire. Perry never won another title after 1936, and no Brit has won at Wimbledon since. You know how Boston fans celebrated when the Red Sox finally broke their losing streak. England will make that party look like a Sunday school picnic if Murray finally breaks through.

It all means that there won’t be a dozen people in the stadium who will be cheering for Roddick. He knows it. So Roddick already has invented a mental trick to help him along.

“I’m just going to pretend when they say, ’Come on, Andy!’ that they mean me,” he told reporters.

He needs all the help he can get. For Andy Murray, time is just beginning. For Andy Roddick, it’s running out.

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