MELBOURNE, Australia — Though she is without her sister Venus in Melbourne, Serena Williams has found a new doubles partner for the Australian Open: her longtime friend Andy Roddick.

“Book it, it’s real!” she posted on Twitter upon announcing the agreement to play mixed doubles in Australia. The two had previously announced their intentions to partner with each other in the new mixed-doubles event at the London Olympics this summer.

Williams, who has won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles with her sister, has not played competitive mixed doubles since the Hopman Cup in 2008, winning the team competition with Mardy Fish. Early in her career, Williams played mixed doubles at the four major events frequently, and with considerable success, winning Wimbledon and the United States Open in 1998 with the Belarussian Max Mirnyi. After she won her maiden Grand Slam title at the 1999 United States Open, however, Williams restricted her Slam workload to singles and sporadic women’s doubles with Venus.

“I think it will be really fun,” Williams said of the partnership with Roddick.

Read more on NewYorkTimes.com by clicking here.

Andy will open his Australian Open campaign on Tuesday, against Robin Haase. The match is scheduled fourth up on Hisense Arena, with play starting at 11am local time (7pm – 1 day EST).

This will be Andy’s second meeting against the Dutchman. Their only previous meeting came at the Australian Open in 2011, in the round of 32. There, Andy prevailed in four sets. Haase, currently ranked at 53, has only played one match coming into the Australian Open, having lost in the first round in Sydney.

Haase’s stats courtesy of ATPWorldTour.com:

Age: 24 (06.04.1987)
Birthplace: The Hague, The Netherlands
Residence: Turnhout, Belgium
Height: 6’3″ (190 cm)
Weight: 170 lbs (77 kg)
Plays: Right-handed
Turned Pro: 2005
Coach: Dennis Schenk

To see Tuesday’s full schedule of play in Melbourne, click the following link:

http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/schedule7.html

The Australian Open is being televised on ESPN. Click here to see the full, international, TV schedule:

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/01/Features/TV-Schedule-Australian-Open.aspx

Stay tuned to AndyRoddick.com for all the latest from Melbourne.

The draw for the first Grand Slam of the year was made on Friday in Melbourne and, seeded No. 15, Andy will face Dutchman Robin Haase in the first round of the Australian Open. Andy also played Haase at the Australian Open last year, beating the Dutchman in four sets in the third round.

Should he progress through the first round, Andy could face a meeting with long-time rival and 2005 runner-up, Lleyton Hewitt, should the Australian defeat Cedrik-Marcel Stebe.

Andy is seeded to meet No. 23 Milos Raonic in the third round; the Canadian made his breakthrough in Melbourne last year as a qualifier, powering through to the fourth round. If all goes to seeding, Andy would face defending champion and top seed Novak Djokovic in the fourth round.

Also in Andy’s quarter of the draw are No. 5 seed David Ferrer, No. 9 seed Janko Tipsarevic and No. 17 Richard Gasquet.

Check out the full draw here: http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ms/r1s1.html

Andy has been warming up for the Australian Open at the AAMI Classic in Kooyong this week and goes to Melbourne as a four-time former semi-finalist.

Play gets underway on Monday in Melbourne. Stay tuned to www.andyroddick.com for all the latest news Down Under.

Go, Andy!

Andy has recorded his first win of 2012, with a hard fought three sets win at the AAMI Kooyong Classic. Andy came from a set down to defeat Thomas Berdych 4-6, 7-6, 6-3.

Andy has one more match in his warm up to Melbourne. He will face Japan’s Kei Nishikori on Friday. Nishikori, who replaced Milos Raonic in the draw, pulled off a big win against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga on Thursday.

Andy’s match against Nishikori is scheduled for the final match of the day. Play starts at 11am local time (7pm EST – 1 day). See the full order of play here:

http://www.aamiclassic.com.au/news.php?view=60

Stay tuned to AndyRoddick.com as we bring you all the latest from Melbourne, including the Australian Open draw, due to be released on Friday.

Andy lost a tough opening match at the AAMI Kooyong Classic on Wednesday, falling to Gael Monfils 7-6, 7-6.

The format of the exhibition tournament in Melbourne guarantees Andy another match though. He will now play Thomas Berdych, who also lost his first match to Bernard Tomic.

See the updated draw table here:

http://www.aamiclassic.com.au/draw.php

Andy’s match against Berdych will be on Thursday. They’re scheduled for the third match, following an 11am start (local time).

Stay tuned to AndyRoddick.com for all the latest on Andy’s warm up to the Australian Open.

“I hope this rain holds off so we can play at the AAMI Classic today…” American Andy Roddick, a three-time Kooyong champ (2006-2008), tweeted a few hours ago regarding his first match of the year, which is set to be the last one of the day against Frenchman Gael Monfils. “Looking forward to the first match of 2012 a bit later.”
The No. 16 ranked player in the world, Roddick, is set to take on the No. 15 player, Monfils, in front of 9,500 Day 1 spectators in Melbourne’s Kooyong stadium, with the Frenchman holding a 5-3 head-to-head lead. Their last meeting back in Tokyo 2010 was a fight to the finish, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(6), with Monfils just barely keeping Roddick from evening up their career match score.

From January 11-14, eight players will play three matches in the best of three tie-breaker sets. This Plexicushion hard court has always been Roddick’s pre-Australian Open exhibition of choice, and this year he is joined by Canadian Milos Raonic, compatriot Mardy Fish, Jurgen Melzer, France’s Gael Monfils, Czech Republican Tomas Berdych, Aussie youngster Bernard Tomic, and World No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Stay tuned to AR.com for the latest results, previews, and news from Down Under, and feel free to check out all AAMI Kooyong Classic schedules and results at www.aamiclassic.com.au.

The Andy Roddick Foundation’s Youth Tennis Program (ARF) in cooperation with Fair Oaks Ranch Country Club announced today that it will host the First Annual U.S.T.A. Sanctioned Andy Roddick Foundation Junior Tennis Classic on Friday, April 20th thru Sunday, April 22nd at Fair Oaks Ranch Country Club in Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas (7900 Fair Oaks Parkway).

This tournament will be the first phase of ARF’s point series of U.S.T.A. sanctioned tennis tournaments sponsored by Babolat and local businesses. One boy and one girl of the Boys and Girls, 18’s divisions who earns the most points in the series will receive a wildcard entry to an I.T.F. tournament in South America. All other divisional winners in the series will receive one free week of competitive tennis training at the ARF training center in San Antonio, Texas this summer.

The other U.S.T.A. sanctioned tennis tournaments will be held in Kerrville, Marble Falls and Beaumont, Texas. Interested participants may register at www.usta.com and click on the tennis tournament link.

Anyone interested in corporate or individual tournament sponsorships please contact Adam Boyar at 210.389.6524 or email David Holder, Tournament Director, at daveholder@andyroddick.com. Proceeds from the ARF Junior Tennis Classic will go towards the ARF Youth Tennis Program.

Tune in this Saturday, January 7th from 1 – 4 p.m. EST/10 a.m. – 1 p.m. PST to Fox Sports Radio for Andy and Bobby’s premiere radio show. The pair will have an all star lineup of guests featured on Saturday’s show including Brian Billick, wide receiver Terrell Owens, Chris Fowler, Dwight Freeney, Steve Nash, Kirk Morrison and Stevie Johson.

The show Roddick and Bones is set to hit all of Fox Sports Radio’s major markets and you can you can find your local Fox Sports Radio Affiliate by clicking the link below:

http://www.foxsportsradio.com/pages/affiliates.html

The Andy Roddick Foundation has been selected as one of the recipients for the 2012 ATP ACES For Charity grant programme.

A grant of $10,000 will be awarded to the Andy Roddick Foundation, with the funds going towards helping underprivileged children in Austin, Texas.

ATP ACES For Charity launched in 2011 and is a global initiative aimed at giving back to communities where ATP World Tour events are played and supporting tournament and player charitable activities. In 2012, the ATP has awarded 14 grants to its members’ charities. As well as the Andy Roddick Foundation, other player charities to benefit include the Roger Federer Foundation and the Mardy Fish Foundation. The BNP Paribas Open’s (Indian Wells) Champions Volunteer Foundation was one of the tournament charities which also received a grant.

“We are very excited and appreciative to be acknowledged by the ATP with this generous grant,” said Andy. “So many players are involved in charities and it’s great to see the Tour supporting our efforts.”

To find out more about ATP ACES For Charity and read about all the grant recipients, please visit ATPWorldTour.com.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/Charity/ATP-ACES-Charity-Grants.aspx

The Andy Roddick Foundation, was established by Andy and his parents, Blanche and Jerry, in 2001. To date, over $10 million has been raised to help children in Florida and Texas.

“I have some great memories of playing in Atlanta where I won my very first ATP World Tour event,” Roddick said. With play commencing on July 16, the 2001 ATC champion will return to Atlanta, Georgia with fellow Americans John Isner and Jack Sock for the second year as one of the stops on the Olympus US Open Series tour. “To return and have an opportunity to play in this remarkable new venue will be very exciting. July summer nights in the middle of Atlanta with the skyline lights towering above, along with the supportive tennis fans that always turn out here will make for one of the best stops on tour. I’m looking forward to playing in the Atlanta Tennis Championships.”

For the full article and all tournament details, click here:
http://www.atlantatennischampionships.com/news/roddick_isner_sock_to_play_atlanta_tennis_championships_/